The Wicked One
by Zeer
Summary: Kyd Wykkyd is released from his frozen prison by an old Titan's enemy. Together with See-More, Kyd Wykkyd fights with and against evil, to save both a villain and his friends. Watch as his untold story unfolds.
1. Awaken

**Just a prologue for an idea I had. Let me know what you think. Dedicated to one of my favorite characters in the Teen Titans. Set after the events of the Brotherhood of Evil.**

_**The Wicked One**_

_**Chp. 1: Awaken**_

It was so quiet and dark, peaceful in a way, I found myself enjoying it at first. That feeling of joy soon ebbed away however to the severe feeling of **boredom**. No bank robbing, no pillow forts, no video games, none of Gizmo's annoying insults, none of Mammoth's revolting way of eating. The peace and quiet was good, but I missed the _feeling_ of stealing, the adrenaline that pumped through my veins every time we stole or whenever we fought the Titans…

The Teen Titans…

I was beginning to remember now, the thoughts were hazy at first, but I was starting to remember. I was part of an Academy, brought in by that Brother Blood guy, simple life, went to class, took exams, avoided dances, it was…nice.

Then that Teen Titan character…Cyborg, that's it, he came disguised as some ruthless thug named Stone. I remember…he and the Teen Titans destroyed our Academy…

I saved that student…Angel was her name…I remember…having a crush on her, not that I would of told her even if I could speak… We parted ways shortly after, something about "lack of communication". I was alone for awhile then…I used my powers and stole to survive…using what I learned from the school…

A few months later Brother Blood was captured, it was the Teen Titans again…I was starting to grow tired of seeing their name everywhere…taking apart my life…

I met more fellow HIVE students shortly after; Jinx, Gizmo, Mammoth, Billy Numerous, and See-More. I never really knew any of them at a personal level but they welcomed me in with open arms, though I think it was more because of my powers that they bothered with me at all…

We made a pretty decent team for awhile, we did what we want, stole what we want, I was beginning to enjoy myself like I did back at the Academy.

It was then that the Brotherhood of Evil contacted us… Apparently they were tracking down all enemies of the Titans and were planning to take down the whole mess of them through a combined effort of all of their mortal enemies. I wanted nothing more to do with Titans or schemes or plots, my other…friends seemed to agree, Jinx was the only one who seemed excited about the idea of working with them.

More months passed after speaking with the Brotherhood and things seemed to be back to normal. The Titans East were shipped back to Steel City after getting rid of Control Freak and the city became easier to rob than ever. See-More and I soon became quite the pair of thief's, combining his sensory abilities with my teleportation ones made stealing a lot more fun and exciting. Finally, things were starting to look up.

But…no…things did not stay that way…that guy…Flash…Kid Flash. "Honorary Titan" was what he was called…Titans…what word burned in my head…it tore against the emotions I refused to feel.

Kid Flash arrived and ruined everything…he and Jinx. Our base…our home was destroyed; he took Jinx away from us…

Thoughts were going blurry again…I can't keep up…Brotherhood found us…we separated…fought the Raven girl…Brain…told us it was over…Titan's finished…everyone gathered to celebrate…See-More wasn't there…we were…

Attacked? Tricked? Out-maneuvered?

The Brain was a fool; he counted his pieces out before collecting them. The remaining Titan's attacked us…Raven…my target…was one of the attackers. We tried to stay and fight…but it wasn't us…we weren't here to do supreme evil…just wanted to live free…

Gizmo decided it was time to leave…I remember…I remember it all…we tried to run…to get away but…

Jinx…Jinx and Kid Flash stopped us…our former leader attacked us and Kid Flash…

Did what? ...can't remember…too fast…he was always too fast. But whatever happened now it was just me…no Titans…no Brain…no HIVE…no Brother Blood…no friends…just m-.

A sudden force hit me like a ton of bricks, all at once I felt myself leave the blurry dreamlike world and fall face first into something hard and cold…a floor?

I tried to rise but my arms and legs felt like jello, my cape fell around me like a shroud. I pushed myself up a little bit using my arms, they were shaking like leaves.

"Don't worry, that weakness is only temporary," a voice spoke…a voice? "It is not often that someone is awakened after being frozen for six months."

Frozen? Six months? With an unheard groan from my muscles I forced my feet to plant themselves on the ground; my legs shook worse than my arms. Nevertheless I rose slowly, feeling the blood rush from my head I stood there in a daze for several moments.

"Tougher than you look I see…good." the voice said, clearer now, it sounded human…female… but…computerized.

I rubbed a gloved hand over my red eyes and slowly the fogginess began to drift away, soon revealing to me a large, expansive underground warehouse looking place, very familiar. But what I found to be talking to me was far, far from familiar.

"Kyd Wykkyd is it?" the small, hovering, robotic orb that the voice came from asked me. I simply stared back into it; the large red lens that took up most of its "face" reflected my image perfectly, almost like a mirror. I watched myself slowly nod.

"You most likely do not know me but my name is Blackfire," the robot continued, bobbing up and down as it hovered in the air, "I have heard about you and your...friends, the Brotherhood of Evil's, little mishap with the Titans so I decided to send this android here to come and rescue you."

I was beginning to regain a little more control over my body, as the thing talked I looked around the nearly empty hideout, vaguely remembering what went down six months ago…my wandering eyes stopped when they fell upon the entire cast of Teen Titans villains.

Mad Mod, Control Freak, Johnny Rancid, Killer Moth, the Puppet King, Mento, Madame Rouge, Monsieur Mallah, the Brain…and my friends. I walked up to their frozen prison; their faces were contorted to looks of extreme surprise and horror. I silently placed a hand against the ice.

"It took me awhile to build this android and equip it with a laser powerful enough to set you free, unfortunately that was all the power it had, one prisoner, and I chose you."

I slowly turned from my friends to the strange, floating droid, its round; red lens was still trained directly at me.

"As you may have guessed I am a prisoner as well, just like you were, though were I am held cannot be broken into by a mere robot, I went to great lengths and risks to free you…I need you."

I raised a brow. Someone needed me? For more than just stealing? Who is this Blackfire…?

"If you release me I will return the favor by releasing the rest of your friends," Blackfire continued, the droid hovered a little closer to me, my reflection grew in its lens, "So what do you say…do we have a deal?"

I stood there, pondering. I could leave now, use my powers to take me far away from here and never look back…but if I did that I would be alone…really alone. Even though my friends weren't really, really my friends they were as close as you could get, plus I didn't really want to go back to stealing by myself… besides, how hard could busting someone out of jail really be?

Again, I saw as my reflection nod to the android that Blackfire used to communicate.

"Splendid, I figured you would agree," the woman said, I could easily hear the smile in her voice, "Now please, come closer, there is something I need to show you before we begin…"

I raised a brow for the second time but I slowly inched myself towards the orb, I mean what harm could such a thing do?

I found the answer sooner than I expected when a hidden flap suddenly flew open from beneath the robot's lens. Before I could react a large claw sprung from it and gripped itself around my neck. I barely had time to step back before it released itself and flew back into the robot, the flap snapped shut.

I stood there in a surprised daze for merely a second before I felt a tight grip enclose itself around my neck. I looked down and found myself looking directly at a large, metallic collar wrapped tightly around my neck. In a panic I gripped it and tried to pull it off, it didn't even budge.

"Just in case you have any second thoughts," Blackfire said, I could hear a much bigger smile in her words now, "This collar will track you no matter where you decide to teleport to and I shall not remove it until I am free once more."

With an unheard sigh I released the collar and shot the robot a dirty look. I could tell this deal was going to get worse before it got any better.

**To Be Continued…**

**Tell me how you guys liked it, figured there wasn't a lot of Kyd Wykkyd fanfiction out there and the guy definitely needs some more spotlight.**

**Hope everyone enjoyed, please read and review!**


	2. Broken

**Thanks very much for those who have read and even more thanks to those who reviewed already! Nothing much else to add so, on with the story. To any of those who haven't seen the last few episodes of Season Five you might want to go refresh your memories somehow, lest you be confused…**

_**The Wicked One**_

_**Chapter 2: Broken**_

The dimension was a quiet one. Despite the bright, demented and colorful look to its 'sky' and the large shards of rock that impossibly hovered in the air is was very, very, very quiet.

"Man, this is lame!" See-More gripped as he plopped on the ground, his back sliding against the energized bars of his prison, "How long are we gonna be stuck in here?"

"As long as that Herald character decides to keep us here I'm supposing," answered an older man, he stood in a similar cell beside the teenage thief, "And by the looks of things I don't think he will be releasing us anytime soon."

"Super…" See-More mumbled mostly to himself, "I hope Jinx and the others are ok…"

The older man spared the teenager a sideways glance and nothing more. He looked down at his chest piece and snarled.

"Looking for this?" a suave voice asked, the two prisoners glanced up to see a dark skinned, purple robed teen relaxing on one of the massive floating rocks overhead. He smiled down at them as he played with a disk shaped object in his hands, "Warp, is it?"

"Crafty Titan…" the man deemed Warp sneered, "What exactly is your intention in keeping us locked up like this?"

"Yeah man, what gives!?" See-More added, jumping up, "I thought you were like, one of the good guys!"

"I dunno," Herald replied lazily, attaching the disk to his belt before standing up, "I could use some company I guess; it does get kinda lonely around here."

"He can't be serious…" Warp hissed, looking over at the teenager, See-More could only shrug in return.

"So why'd yall attack me anyways?" the Herald continued, jumping off his rock and floating gracefully down onto the one they were imprisoned on, "Better yet, how'd yall even find me? I didn't think anyone knew about this place."

See-More was about to open his mouth and say something until Warp gave him a dangerous look. The teenager immediately sealed his mouth closed again.

"Sorry, but you won't get any information out of us." the time-based villain spoke instead, giving Herald a hard look.

"Really now?" the dark skinned teen said softly, looking from Warp to See-More. The single eyed thief merely grinned sheepishly. A slow smile spread over the Titan's face, "Mind if I show you guys something?"

"Uhh…" Warp and See-More said in unison, sharing a look, but before they could give a full answer the Herald spun around and, pulling out his trumpet, blew out a note that ripped open a whole above a particularly massive floating rock.

The two criminals simply stared as a humongous black and blue dragon fell out from it and crashed into the rock. From there it simply thrashed and breathed fire as it tried to move, similar bands of energy that made up the prison bars were encircled around the massive creatures body.

"I believe he said his name was Malchior, the dread dragon." The Herald said, smile still on his face, Warp and See-More stared with wide eyes/eye, "I trapped him in here a little while after you guys."

"_**Insolent human vermin!"**_ the dragon labeled Malchior roared, "_**Release me from these binds lest I burn your body alive and devour you!" **_

The rocks shook beneath his voice and See-More lost his footing, Herald, however, seemed unfazed.

"I was going to use said binds to keep his mouth closed as well," the dark teen mused as he watched the raging dragon, "But the death threats kinda grow on you after awhile, ya know?"

Once again Warp and See-More share a dumbfounded look.

"Shouldn't you be…I don't know…out saving innocents and stopping bad guys or something?" See-More asked, ignoring the glare Warp was giving him, "I mean, aren't you a Teen Titan now?"

"_Honorary_ Titan," The Herald corrected him as if it made a difference, he didn't bother to turn to face him, "And saving people and stopping people are for people who have admirers and enemies, I don't really have either of those."

"This 'collection' is starting to speak otherwise to the latter," Warp grumbled under his breath. The Herald then turned to the two, a small smile still on his face.

"Hey now, in all fairness you guys attacked me first," he countered, folding his arms and smiling a bit wider, "Before you guys invaded my home I didn't even know the Brotherhood of Evil existed!"

"I find that odd considering the Brotherhood had plenty of information on _you_!" Warp shot back before his eyes opened wide, realizing what he just said.

"They had information…?" Herald said slowly, losing his smile he stepped a few feet closer to Warp's cell, "…on me?"

Warp simply looked back into the teen's eyes, for the first time seeing surprise, seeing an opening… seeing an opportunity. He smiled, "_Pages…_"

"What kind of information!?" The Herald snapped, now inches away from Warp's prison bars, "Tell me what you know!" Warp's smile only grew wider.

See-More watched on in silence, his one-eyed gaze drifted from the two to the dragon. He was surprised to see the great beast had stopped thrashing and was completely still, for he was staring at the two as well as if he was…waiting.

"If you must know I am aware of many things about you…Adam." Warp spoke slowly, his smile growing ever wider as Herald looked on in horror, "For you see I am not just some old man with the ability to create portals like you, I am a _time_ traveler from 100 years in the future, I read all about you in the Hero's Archives…I know about your sad, sad childhood, I know about the dark halls of your mind, of the never ending screams of your people…"

"No…" Herald muttered, his hand clenched his trumpet tightly, "You don't know anything…"

"I know about the Temples of Candor, the Pool of Pagon, and the Prophecy of Adam."

"Shut-up…" Herald growled, his fists shaking, "Just shut-up…"

"Hey man, maybe you should chill?" See-More called to his companion, he could see great cracks begin to form on the rocks around them, "I don't think messin' with this guy is such a good-."

"In the future your life is merely a history book," Warp continued, disregarding the teen completely, "I know the day you were born and I know the day you died, I know why you roam this sad dimension, alone and frightened for the rest of your life…and Adam unless you want me to spoil the surprise of why your father will never love you I suggest you free me from this cell at on-!"

"I said…_**SHUT-UP!**_" The Herald exclaimed gripping his trumpet and pressing it to his lips he released a sound louder than any See-More had ever experienced. The sound waves made the air itself tremble and the rocks all around them smashed as the full force of the energy hit Warp and his cell before he had time to scream.

"_**Foolish move!" **_a great voice roared, See-More turned to see the dread dragon, Malchior, falling from the sky, his rock had crumbled. But even as the dragon fell his mouth was still open and trained directly at the dark skinned teen.

Without thinking See-More yelled at the fellow teen, "Herald! Look out!"

The Herald turned from his attack on Warp just in time to see the dread dragon breath out his fire. The blast of heated energy collided with the teen and he was instantly erased from sight, Malchior continued to plummet beneath See-More's line of vision. Though the thief only had his eye for the spot where Herald had been standing mere moments ago.

Without a word the teenage thief slumped back onto the ground and even when the energized cell disappeared he no longer had the strength to move. He simply sat there, staring into the now even emptier dimension.

"_**Ahh, finally! Free at last!" **_he heard a terribly familiar voice cry out, a hair's breadth later Malchior was in the 'sky' above him, the dragon's bindings disappearing when See-More's did.

"Dim-witted stone age lizard!" an angry voice shot, See-More's eyed widened. _Warp?_

Sure enough, when the teen sat up a bit he saw the time-traveler storming up to the stone's edge. His golden armor looked more like ribbons on his body, but otherwise he seemed alright, besides the fact that he was name calling a colossal beast about 200 times his size. Malchior glanced down at him.

"Without that child or my time traveling disk there is no way for us to return to our dimension! You've trapped us all here!"

"_**Watch your tone with me, human!"**_ the dragon roared back, spitting fire, _**"Lest I do the same to you that I did to the boy!"**_

"That _boy_ was our only way out of here!" Warp continued, staring down the dragon. See-More got to his feet, he didn't like where this was going. "If you hadn't of blasted him to kingdom come I might have been able steal my disk back and of been out of here by now!"

"_**I have had enough of your mindless talking," **_Malchior rumbled, a familiar energy building up in his throat, _**"I will relish in your death…"**_

"Guys! Hold up, hold up!" See-More cried out, stepping in front of Warp, "We can't go blasting ourselves to bits, where will that get us!?"

"_**It will get me two less loathsome humans out of my sight…"**_ Malchior hissed, his red eyes leering down at See-More.

"Well...uh…Malchior is it? Like it or not as long as your trapped here you need us!" See-More waited then and when he was sure that the dragon wasn't about to deep fry him and Warp he continued, "And…well…I don't know that much about dragons but I'm pretty sure ya'll lack the ability to warp through dimensions!"

"_**And you can? Human?"**_ Malchior questioned after a moment of silence. See-More grinned sheepishly at that.

"Well…uhh…no," See-More began and when he saw the dragon's eyes begin to leer again he quickly continued, "B-but my friend Warp here can! He-."

"_**Well then, what are you waiting for?"**_ the dragon asked flying closer towards them as he turned his attention to the older man. Warp had his arms folded and was looking pointedly away, _**"Use your powers and release me from this!"**_

"I _cannot,_" Warp snapped, his eyes locking with the dragon's again, "That child you incinerated held the disk that grants me my time traveling powers! Without that piece I am nothing more than a man with a highly evolved battle suit."

"_**Then the both of you are of no further use to me…"**_ the dragon decreed, his mouth building up energy once more.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" See-More begged, talking faster now, "If the guy, Herald's, trumpet survived or if Warp's time thingy survived then I can fix it up and we can use it to return us- I mean you, home!"

The dragon hesitated a bit but still the fire burned in its throat.

"B-b-but if you decide to finish us off now you will have no chance!"

Malchior's fire died a bit lower as he thought on this. See-More suddenly felt Warp at his back.

"My suit is nearly destroyed," the time-traveler whispered, "Even if we do find my disk the chances of it still being useable are slim, and I highly doubt that trumpet will work for anyone but The Herald."

"Well, it's the only chance we got," See-More whispered back, his eye still trained on Malchior, "And it's either that or be eaten alive by a talking dragon, pick your favorite!"

Warp scowled but stepped back and said nothing more. And even though See-More was shaking into a million pieces on the inside he stared confidently up at the towering dragon.

"So, what'll it be?"

XxXxXxXxXxX

"This is your base?" the floating robot chimed, I didn't miss the same humorous note in her voice. Though I chose to ignore it, plus, she had a point.

The base was a mess after we first created it, us being lazy teenagers and all, but after Kid Flash had his way with it…it didn't seem like it would ever be deemed 'clean' again.

Food littered both the kitchen and the living room. The TV was still smashed from when Mammoth punched a hole into it after we first learned of Jinx's absence; our game station lay cold and dusty on the floor before it. I walked past the damaged relics and into the hallway that held all of our bedrooms.

I passed all of my friend's bedrooms, their doors were closed but I didn't need to see inside to know what would be behind them. Gizmo's garage like room would be cluttered with dust, his numerous gadgets worn down from months of neglect. Mammoth's weights would still be jammed deep into his walls, his room still destroyed from that temper tantrum he had dealing with Jinx. Billy Numerous' random stolen object collection would still be where he left them, cold and meaningless. See-More's basketball posters would be peeling off his walls, the only thing not aging would be the stolen picture of Jinx he kept hidden beneath his pillow. Jinx's room would still be a complete mess caused by Kid Flash that she never bothered to clean up.

I stepped up to the final door down the hall. My room.

The familiar hissing sound greeted me as my door slid open. I stepped into the dark room with the floating orb right behind me.

"Your room, I'm assuming?" it asked me. I simply nodded in reply, "Figures, it's just as gloomy as you are."

I glanced around. The walls were still painted black, no windows, and no lights. The only furniture was a simple bed that rested against one side of the room. I slowly walked over and lay down on it and, despite being frozen solid for five months, I felt very, very tired. Blackfire seemed to understand what was going on.

"Fine, rest now Kid Wykkyd, but tomorrow we begin the plan."

I cracked my neck beneath the metallic collar that held me prisoner.

Oh goody. Can't wait.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

**To Be Continued…**


	3. Care

**The Wicked One**

**Chapter 3: Care**

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

_Dark claws tearing at my body. I try to scream, but no words leave my lips, they never have. _

_I hear a cold, cruel laugh, the claws leave me alone at its sound, but I keep my eyes closed._

_A softer, more comforting hand places itself on my shoulder, still my eyes remain closed, I knew better._

"_Please, child, release your fears" a voice speaks, as soft as the hand that remained on my shoulder, "I am here now, there is no need for tears."_

_I wanted to tear her hand from my body, I wanted to scream at her and tell her to shut-up with the rhyming, shut-up with the lying._

_But I could do neither._

"_You know your mother knows best, I have taken away all those bad children that hurt you, I have laid their bodies to rest."_

_The grip tightened on my shoulder and I could only lay there, face in the ground, hands twisted in my hair._

"_Just give it time, you will see, I shall take away all the pains, I will make you free."_

_It was a lie, all a lie, everything she spoke, as her nails dug in my flesh, I myself began to choke. _

"_I have given you a home,_ _I have shown you the light, now come and embrace your mother, and everything will be alright."_

_No no __**no **__I can only see the dark, forever beneath your shadow, forever tainted by your mark._

"_Silly child, one day you will learn, for everyone that has hurt you, I shall make the world __**burn**__."_

_XxXxXxXxXxX_

I awoke as the strange dream spoke those words, sweat dripped beneath my costume. I tried to take in calming breaths but found I was unable to; I couldn't take in any breath at all! I jumped up from my bed in a panic and gripped my neck- as soon as I did, however, the fear left me, as did the lump in my throat.

It was just that stupid metal collar that managed to get in a good enough angle, as I slept, to press into my neck and cut off air flow. Stupid, stupid collar.

After adjusting it to a more comfortable position, I looked over to the hovering orb that had so generously given me the said collar. It still remained in the air but it did not move, not even when I took a step towards it. Was it asleep? I could imagine Blackfire would not want to miss the chance at saying something cruel and mocking at my display, she reminded me a lot of my friends.

I took another step towards it, the contraption still did not move, its big, red eye that normally had its gaze trained on me seemed to now be staring at nothing in particular. Blackfire _must_ be sleeping.

An idea quickly came to me that I could try and shut down, or maybe, simply destroy the orb while its master slept. But as quickly as that idea came I disregarded it, I was no tech wiz like Gizmo. And even if I could dismantle it the fact that my friends were frozen solid was still an issue, and the _greater_ fact that I would be eternally alone if they remained that way was still a _greater _issue.

I stared at the dozing robot for a few more seconds before turning around and walking out of my room. I needed a shower.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Malchior, Warp, and See-More flew through the strange dimension. The Dread Dragon held the mortals in each of his fore claws, and although it wasn't as bad as carrying them on his back, the ancient beast still felt sick that he was aiding humans at all. The very same vermin that shunned him and imprisoned him so very long ago.

"That Titan couldn't have gotten far," one of the insects said, the one clad in the broken golden suit, "Blast it all, where is he!?"

The dragon felt a growl build in his throat. He hated when that particular human spoke and it spoke quite a lot. The sound of it's voice made the dragon's skin crawl.

The smaller human in the other claw simply looked down with his one massive eye; the dragon noticed that it was colored differently than before. Not that it really mattered, if it aided them in their search then the faster they could find the devices…and the faster the Dread Dragon could eat these pathetic mortals and escape back into his own dimension…or rather the dimension of the one human that bested him…

Raven…

"You, dragon, have you spotted anything? You are being unusually quiet…"

"_**You shall address me as the Dread Dragon Malchior and nothing more, worm," **_Malchior hissed in reply, his red eyes glaring down at the tiny thing in his claw, _**"Do I make myself clear?"**_

"You fail to answer my question…oh Dread Dragon of the long forgotten past."

Malchior stared down at the human, and the vermin dared to stare back. The dragon felt his hatred bubble up in his belly, his anger was the source of his fire, the source of his strength, it made up everything that he was. And, right now, all he wanted to do was crush the tiny thing in his claw. That very claw began to respond to Malchior's wish.

Warp gasped at first as the weight of the dragon's claw began to squeeze him; that surprise soon turned into a great pain and the time traveling man began to scream in agony. See-More took quick notice.

"Guys, guys chill out!" the teen cried out as the dragon continued to squeeze Warp, "We will never get out of here if we don't learn to work together!"

At the sound of his voice, the dragon loosened his grip on the man. Warp groaned softly, his breathing coming in quick gasps. Yet, even though Malchior halted the process of killing him, the Dread Dragon still glared down at them hatefully.

"_**I grow tired of carrying mortals around like I am some mindless pet!" **_Malchior growled, and this time See-More felt the claw around him begin to tighten, though it wasn't crushing him, _**"I believe I will benefit more from just eating the both of you and finding this device on my own."**_

"Don't be…foolish…" Warp moaned between breaths as he stared up equally as hateful at the dragon, "Even if you…did find…my device…you would have…no idea…how to work it."

Malchior shifted his bright eyes to the weak man, a wide, toothy grin soon spread across his large mouth.

"_**You underestimate the depth of my powers, mortal, as do all your kind."**_ The dragon spoke unnervingly, releasing the two humans. Though instead of falling they remained floating in the air, whether it was of the dragon's doing or because of the properties of this dimension, neither one was sure.

See-More wanted to say something, anything to talk Malchior out of what he was about to do. But as the boy looked into the face of the colossal beast he saw, for the first time, just how much anger, and hatred were in those eyes. See-More may have not been the smartest guy at his Academy but he could read _anyone_ by simply looking into their eyes, and as he looked into the dragon's red orbs he could see the malice, the fury, he could see pain and suffering, he could see deep rooted prejudices that Malchior had been holding against humans for thousands of years. And he could see that there was no point in trying to make him think otherwise.

Warp silently looked over at the brown skinned teen as See-More suddenly knelt into a fighting position, his hand on the dial that was attached to his large eye. He looked ready to fight for his life, even though it was painfully obvious that they were both, more than likely, about to die.

A ghost of a smile appeared on the middle-aged man's face. The young child reminded him a lot of his daughter.

"_**You, the pesky insect in the golden suit, if you know history so well than tell me…" **_Malchior said slowly, he then rose to his full height. His mouth opened slightly, revealing a pool of red hot fire, "_**What happens to humans when the Dread Dragon Malchior has had ENOUGH OF THEM!?"**_

Yet, before that question was answered, before Malchior could release his fire and burn the two humans to ashes, they were all attacked.

They came as if from nowhere; strange, white, creatures made up of only a body and tentacles. They pulled themselves out of the stones that floated around them, out of the very air around them, and in an instant, fell upon the trio.

Malchior was attacked first. Six or seven of the strange beings attached themselves directly to his body, several wrapping their tentacles around his neck, the fire that was once fixing to spew from the dragon's mouth died instantly. With a great roar, Malchior shook his great body frantically, though none of the things even budged, more even began to land on the Dread Dragon, some now pinning his wings.

See-More and Warp didn't have to wait long for the creatures to notice them as well, three of the creatures soon began to fly towards the two floating villains. See-More quickly turned from the struggling dragon to face their attackers.

"Ah man, here they come!" See-More called, his hand now twisting the dial, his eyes changing form and color at each turn. Warp, however, pushed him aside, ready to face the assault head on.

"I may be broken, but I am not useless!" the old man exclaimed, he then raised a fist towards the white creatures. A device that looked like an hour glass was attached parallel to his wrist, one of the only things that weren't damaged by the Herald's attack. After taking a second to take aim Warp unleashed his attack, jets of laser beams began to shoot out from the device, hitting one of the creatures dead on, sending it sailing into one of the floating rocks.

The remaining two creatures were quick to act, however, each shooting out one of their tentacles at impossible lengths, grabbing both of Warp's arms.

"Let…me…go!" the villain cried out desperately as the creatures now tugged at his arms, no longer advancing, their simple wish to bring their victim to them. Warp also saw another small group advancing towards their location, they needed to act fast. "Child, if you're going to do something, I suggest the present being the best time to do it!"

"I'm on it!" See-More declared, finally reaching the eye form he desired, in his vision everything he saw was in a shade of red. After a moment of taking careful aim the young thief let loose his attack, a bright red laser shot from his socket and tore through the creatures tentacles, searing them in half.

With a wild shriek the entities retreated, the remains of their limbs fell from Warp's arms.

"I should admit, that was quite…lethal." The time based villain remarked, dusting himself off. See-More rubbed the back of his head, giving his companion a sheepish grin.

"Well, whatever these things are, they aren't exactly human, and if they don't hold back…why should I, ya know?"

"Indeed…" Warp muttered to himself, before fixing his gaze on the group of five that were now nearly upon them. Then, after quickly pressing a small button on his wrist, he brought his fist up to the group and, without a second's warning, he released another blast from the hour glass, only this one was at least three times larger, and a lot more deadly.

The blast hit the dead center of the approaching group, tearing limbs and body parts and causing them to halt in their tracks. Some fell down from the sky, presumably dead, but a couple retreated, but not without mortal wounds slowing them down. Warp quickly took aim of the survivors and sent out another blast of energy, turning their remaining body's to dust.

"That…that was awesome!" See-More said after staring in awe for a few moments, "If you had done that with the Titans you would have taken that clock thingie with ease!"

Warp scoffed at the teen's praise. Static then began to pulsate from the hour glass device and the villain immediately tore it from his wrist, it shattered as it fell through the dimension.

"I take pride in handling a situation with as little effort as possible," Warp spoke evenly, staring down after the device, "To have to go to such lengths to be rid of these cretins is an embarrassment."

See-More stared at his companion until a great roar broke into their silence. The two villains looked towards the noise to see Malchior in the air above them, with about twelve or so of the strange creatures attached to him, many more quickly advancing on him. The Dread Dragon twisted violently to try and free himself; he clawed at those that clung to his body and breathed fire at any in the air that he could catch. But for every one that he tore from his body and for every one that burned and fell from his fire, two more would appear from the air itself and join in the assault. And in all of that action it seemed as though the two, small, humans were forgotten.

"Let's go." Warp said tonelessly after staring at the dragon's peril for a few moments, "As long as we are considered alive in this realm I believe we have the ability to just 'fly' on our own."

"But what about Malchior?" See-More mumbled, turning from the dragon to Warp and back without moving, Warp slowly turned to face the boy, "Are we really just going to leave him?"

"Of course we are, you foolish child!" the older villain scolded, as if the answer was obvious, "That blasted lizard has only been a threat to us since the moment he was freed, at least now he can finally be of some use to us."

With that, Warp turned away and began floating to who knows where. See-More looked one last time at the struggling dragon, remembering the pain and rage he saw in those red eyes. But now, as he saw the Dread Dragon fight against more and more of those creatures, he could see more than just hate, he could see surprise…and fear and…doubt.

With a groan, See-More tore his gaze away from the sight. As a villain and a thief he tried so hard to remain cold and feeling-less, his own mother once told him that emotions were for the weak, they only hold you back, they only bring you grief. For anyone else born and raised this way it would be easy to live a life emotion free. But See-More was more than just some kid with a fancy eye gadget, he had a birth gift, one solely composed of feelings and emotions…and one that would not let him go so easily.

"Child…where do you think you're going?" Warp questioned slowly, for he had turned when he realized See-More was not following him, and what he saw was the child fully turned in the direction of the dragon, "…what do you think you're doing?"

"I'm doing what you suggested…" See-More said slowly, not turning to face his companion. Warp gave him a hard stare; his words came out even more slowly.

"And what exactly…did I suggest?"

At that question the young teen turned his head towards him, a cocky smile now placed upon his lips.

"If I'm going to do something, the present is the best time to do it," See-More said, he then quirked his head, "That is what you said, isn't it?"

Warp gave the child a stern glare, his arms folding across his chest. "Well, yes but I didn't mean-."

"Well, I am going to free Malchior _now_, before I regret it _later_," See-More interrupted turning his attention back to the dragon, his body than began to rise, floating through the strange dimension towards Malchior and his assailants, "And unless you want your past to mean nothing and your future to _be_ nothing, then maybe you should help…now!"

And with that See-More flew off towards the dragon, towards his almost certain death. Warp looked up after the child without a word. As he stared his hands dug sharply into his folded arms.

"Stupid brat." Warp muttered before turning around and floating in the opposite direction.

XxXxXxXxXxX

**To Be Continued…**


	4. Deception

**Before I begin I would just like to say thank you to everyone who has read and replied to this story thus far. Your support/criticism is greatly appreciated and, as the story continues, feel free to add any info/suggestions based on Teen Titan's history ** **that may help flesh out the story I'm creating. Thanks again! Now, on with the story.**

**The Wicked One**

**Chapter 4: Danger**

**Xxxxxxxxxxx**

"His name is Fixit," the Blackfire explained to me as her orb displayed a holographic image of a tall man in a lab coat, "Though after a few…'upgrades' he now goes by the name of Professor Castro, he works in a government controlled lab on the outskirts of Jump City, your job is to rendezvous at his lab with another one of my…coverts."

I looked back up into the round, red 'eye' of the floating robot. I could tell Blackfire was enjoying this 'secret agent' talk.

"Fixit used to be nothing more than a washed up android who spent his useless life building robots in a junkyard," Blackfire continued, "And, although I do not know the whole story, the misfit had an encounter with the Titans which ended up with him being convinced that he can enjoy the outside world and be a part of society once again…long story short, it turns out people aren't too keen on sharing office space with a disfigured human android."

The holographic man that stood on the desk before me faded away, in his place stood an equally tall, dark robed, machine looking creature. In one, slow, fluid motion the machine pulled away its robe, revealing an appalling scene of human organs mixed with or replaced by blood red machines that worked their way through his entire body. I felt my own insides churn in disgust and was relieved when the image quickly faded away.

"Forever scorned and feared by the humans Fixit was near death by the time I found him, it was then that I learned that he blamed all of his current misfortune on Cyborg and his friends, he spoke to me as though I was his only attendant to his final hour you see, his eyes were badly damaged so I do not believe he would recognize me as a relative to dear Starfire…"

That definitely caught my attention. This Blackfire was related to a Titan? Why didn't she just ask them for help…? Why was she befriending and getting aid from the Titans enemies? I didn't like this, not one bit.

"…So, out of the goodness and generosity of my heart, I offered the broken thing a second option, rather than simply wasting away I gave him some of my peoples technology, I gave him what he desired most, to be human, or at least, seem like he was one again, and in return I had him swear his undying allegiance to me and that he shall return the favor whenever I deem necessary, I do believe that time is now."

I sat back further into my chair and folded my arms, the collar felt cold around my neck.

"Unfortunately one cannot simply walk into a government lab and ask to speak to one of the scientists, especially not after they have tightened up security and defense systems in the last few months, you see, somehow the government smelled a rat working amongst the staff, now I do not know who this rat could be or what he is after, but it is really none of your or my concerns, Fixit has already informed me that it is not him but the situation is the reason I need you and the other agent to get him out of there."

Right. The other agent, I had almost forgotten about him. This whole idea was giving me more questions than answers. Could I really trust someone who seemed to have so much authority and power over others? The answer is no, no I couldn't, but this wasn't about trusting Blackfire, I didn't even like her, this was about finding the means to save the people I did…sort of, like. Man, what have I gotten myself into?

"And just so you aren't _completely _lost, your partner in crime will be none other than Red-X, you at least know him don't you?"

Red-X. I vaguely remember seeing him once when the Brotherhood of Evil initially called all of us together to discuss the plan. I didn't see him again after that; I suppose he was the only smart one who decided not to stick around.

Then again it did raise suspicions, the same ones that Blackfire and Fixit raised. They all seemed to have stronger than normal ties with the Titans…what if they were Titans? What if they are trying to catch me off guard and formed this elaborate plan to destroy me?

But if that was the case…then why unfreeze me? I was perfectly harmless spending the rest of eternity frozen in a block of ice, why go through all this effort to destroy me? Then…it was only logical that Blackfire did need my help…I wasn't entirely certain that she needed to be freed from some prison…but at least I knew he wasn't trying to destroy me…not yet, anyways.

I nodded to Blackfire's question, doing my best to keep my face blank but attentive. It wouldn't exactly help my situation if she believed I was beginning to have doubts.

"Good, good," Blackfire seemed to say mostly to her, "I have to leave for a short while, if I have not returned by nightfall then head to these coordinates to meet with Red-X. And don't get any funny ideas, this robot shall be on auto-pilot while I'm gone and will follow your every move, oh, and I forgot to mention, if you get the foolish idea of destroying this robot then that collar around your neck will instantly compress until your throat collapses in on itself, well, that's all for now! I really hope you enjoy your evening Wykkyd, I shall return as soon as possible, farewell!"

The red glow then dimmed slightly and a series of numbers appeared in the orb of the robot. Though I hardly noticed, my attention now primarily focused on my collar, for now not only was it a tracking device, but a killing device as well.

What _have _I gotten myself into…?

Xxxxxxxx

Cold autumn air bit me through my thin costume as I walked through the dark, quiet park. Why, in the name of everything that is wykkyd, there would be a park so close to a military research lab I could only guess. Maybe to appear more innocent and unassuming?

I looked through the dark night at the tall, warehouse looking building that stood off in the distance; from here it just looked like a massive shadow. Another, strong breeze literally shook me from my thoughts and forced me to wrap my cape tighter around my body.

I never liked the cold. Every time I teleported it would be intensely cold and dark for a fraction of a second, which was more than enough to make me loathe doing it sometimes. Yet, there was no use in complaining, this is the power I was cursed with, might as well continue making the best of it all.

Pulling my gaze away from the dark building, I continued walking down the dirt path, faintly making out jungle gyms, swing sets, and see-saws; all simple black shadows in the night.

Blackfire's orb hovered quietly behind me, which made it a tad bit easier to ignore. Ever since Blackfire told me of its 'Plan B' programming I swore I could feel the collar around my neck tighten if I even looked at it wrongly.

After a few more minutes of walking, I finally reached a pathway that had street lamps running down on either side; I walked in between the yellow lights reflected on the ground, searching for the one that was out of place. Blackfire said it would be easy to spot, and, lo and behold, I soon saw a lamp whose light shone in a deep red color, much different from its yellow companions.

Following Blackfire's instructions earlier today I walked slowly into the light, letting its crimson glow wash over me. I stood in the dead center of the light for a few moments waiting, as Blackfire stated, for Red-X to 'approve'. I didn't have to wait long.

Without any warning the sound of metal ripping through the air nearly made me jump out of my skin, even more so when I caught a glimpse of an even deeper red object sailing through the red light, directly towards me. On instinct alone I quickly gripped my cape and pulled it over me, jumping into the cold dark and back out into the darkness a few meters away from the red light. A tree, directly behind the red light, sported a red x shaped shuriken; I knew I had escaped by seconds.

"Very quick reflexes," a smooth, cocky voice spoke in the night, I returned my gaze back towards the light, just in time to see a dark clad figure walk into it, only his skull designed mask glowed in the light, "Blackfire told me to make sure it was the real you, don't want some Titan spies getting in the way, do we?"

I regarded Red-X carefully, I did not think he could see me and I was not very keen on changing that. I was mistrustful about this whole thing from the start, now I wasn't sure if he was just testing me, or trying to kill me.

"It's fine Red-X, this is the real Kyd Wykkyd," Blackfire's animitronic voice spoke up, her black orb floating past me and into the nearest light source, "You can trust him."

"…Didn't think you'd actually pull it off," Red-X stated, folding his arms, his stance looked much more relaxed, yet I still refused to leave the shadows, "Getting that Zinotheum will be almost_ too _easy now."

"Now don't sound too disappointed," Blackfire said, almost tauntingly, I'm sure the base will have plenty of guards to keep the both of you satisfied." The orb than turned to me, its red glass eye reflecting in the lamp light.

"They're sensors and cameras can see exactly 2 kilometers around their base, just bring Red-X right outside that range and he can handle the cameras, unfortunately there is nothing I can do about their sensors, but you should have the element of surprise if the guards come looking."

"My kind of plan." Red-X said, mainly to himself, as he cracked his knuckles.

"Best get going now," Blackfire continued, the orb turning its red gaze away from me, "Things are getting very hectic in that base with all the commotion that rat is stirring, I have a good feeling that place will be nothing more than an empty warehouse by tomorrow, so, Wykkyd, if you would."

Seeing no other option I slowly stepped from the shadows and into the red light, staring face to face with the skull masked Red-X. Suspicious or not I was already too deep into this, if I was to survive; I had to work with these people. My friends better be grateful when I finally unfreeze them.

"So, what, do we need to hold hands or something now?" Red-X questioned in a mocking voice, it was easy to hear the smile behind the mask.

I looked back into the mask, saying no words and smiling no smiles. I quickly placed my hand on his shoulder, causing the vigilante to flinch, but thankfully, he didn't try to kill me again.

"Now, now, play nice you two." Blackfire's animitronic voice called, but neither Red-X nor I turned to look at her.

The masked thief stared at me with no words and, I knew, without a cocky smile. In return I gave him the smallest of my own smiles before gripping my cape and pulling it over us.

Xxxxxxxx

"Cameras are down." Red-X said a few minutes after I had teleported us to the location Blackfire had indicated. I glanced over at him, wondering how he could have done such a thing without moving, though it wasn't as if I could ask him. And it seemed that he wasn't even talking to me.

He had two fingers to one side of his masked, I guessed where his ear would be, and he seemed to be talking to himself. Though it didn't take a genius to conclude that he was probably talking through radio with Blackfire; or Fixit for that matter.

"Let's go," Red-X spoke, turning his masked face towards me and indicating the giant warehouse only two kilometers away from us. He more than likely knew that I could teleport us even closer to the warehouse now that the cameras were down, but I didn't see the use of attempting to bring it up. I had a feeling this was the part he was looking forward to.

We both started running in a dead sprint towards the warehouse, and it wasn't long before we reached our first wave of opposition.

Four turret guns revealed themselves from the ground before us, quickly locking in on our positions. I could only hope that Red-X had some sort of night-vision integrated in that suit, but before I could even think of a way to ask, Red-X answered.

"Four turrets, these are mine!" the thief declared, running even faster towards them as I began to slow down. Seeing the closer caped boy as a bigger threat, the turrets all locked on to him and began firing.

Red-X danced effortlessly around them and, when he got close enough, the masked teen leaped into the air throwing, what looked like, four more of the small red x's that almost pierced me. Unlike the one thrown at me, however, each one found their target. The four turrets ceased their fire, static flying from their guns, and blew up, one after the other. Red-X landed behind them just a moment later and continued his advancement, I hurried to catch up.

"Months on the run in the sewers, dodging the cops, hiding from the Titans, it feels good to be back on top again!" Red-X was saying as I finally caught up to him, but we didn't run for but a few more seconds before the second wave appeared.

There were eight now in the path before us, four to the right, and four to the left, their lasers already charging up. As we ran towards them I silently looked at Red-X, his face was fixed on the turrets and even though I couldn't see the face behind the mask, even though he spoke no words, I knew he was smiling.

Xxxxxxxx

"S-sir, another wave of our defenses has been…deactivated." The small man behind the security console muttered as he read the list of numbers that continually rolled down the screen, "Th-third wave is engaging…third wave deactivated…"

"_Damn it!_" The taller, broader security guard captain swore has he sent down his fist on the table, making the smaller man jump, the captain then began pacing the small room, his brow sweating, his teeth clenched. The smaller man watched him through nervous eyes.

"The damn rat has leaked our location somehow!" the captain concluded and, without another word, he pressed two fingers to one ear, "Sherman, I want you and your squad to round up all of the scientists…yes _all_ of them, and take them to the detention cell on the bottom floor…do not _question_ me, Sherman, that is an order! Now fulfill it!"

With that the captain removed the fingers from his ear and began turning towards the small man at the computer, but before he could the door behind him slid open.

"Good evening, captain." A calm, emotionless voice spoke; it rang familiarity in the captain's ears and when the broad man turned he could easily see, in the blue glow of the console, a tall man with wavy brown hair, bright green eyes, and an un-lined, handsome face.

"Professor Castro…" the captain breathed, sounding more surprised than he meant, his hand began lowering further, towards the gun strapped at his hip, "Your supposed to be with th-."

But before he could finish his sentence the Professor was suddenly right in front of him, his hand tightly gripping the captain's wrist. The captain's face twisted in pain.

"No need for that, I think," Professor Castro spoke, just as evenly as before, then, without warning, he sent a powerful fist into the captain's gut, and, before the captain could recover, sent a chop of his hand into the man's broad neck. The security guard captain let out one final groan of pain before the Professor released his wrist, letting the unconscious man fall to the floor.

The small man at the security console let out a tiny squeak of fear when the man fell; his wide eyes fixed on Castro as the tall man bent down and pulled a small device from the fallen captain's ear. His frantic breathing increased ten-fold when the Professor began walking directly towards him.

"Shut down all remaining turrets," Castro spoke, still emotionless, as he forcefully turned the small man's chair towards the console, a moment's later he shoved the small device into the man's ear, keeping two fingers pressed on it, "And tell the guards on the top floor to return to their positions, everything is under control here…"

Xxxxxxxx

**To Be Continued…**


	5. Easy

**The Wicked One**

**Chapter 5 **

**Easy**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

The pale white tentacle creatures seemed to be endless. One after another silently pulled themselves into being, and one by one See-More shot them down using his laser eye. Yet it seemed that for every one the young teen shot down three more pulled themselves out.

"Man! How did Herald fight these things by himself!?" See-More muttered mainly to himself, he then cranked up the dial alongside his eye, increasing the intensity of his laser to heights he never before reached.

Turning around, the young thief aimed his eye towards a large group of the tentacle creatures and prepared to fire, only to have a great mass of molten flame erupt in his face, burning the group of eight or nine to a blackened crisp. With a gasp See-More turned towards the great dragon, he could still feel the heat of the fire burning on his face.

"Hey careful there, Malchior!" See-More called out to him, taking a quick moment to shoot down several more of the pale creatures, "That one was a little close!"

"_**Fool human, leave me be, you are just getting in my way!" **_the dread dragon roared, his body was in constant motion, talons flailing, tail whipping, and mouth breathing constant fire. The creatures obviously saw the dragon as a larger threat, circling him thirty to forty strong. Malchior was stuck, and if things didn't change soon, the dread dragon would fall.

See-More's eye got Malchior's for a quick second before the dragon resumed in his thrashing. For most people any chance to leave a dragon, unscathed, is the one first taken, but for the thief, that glance told him everything.

"I AM NOT LEAVING YOU ALONE!" See-More shouted, knowing his voice could be heard even through the noise of the clashing, "I DO NOT CARE IF YOU HATE HUMANS MALCHIOR, WE ARE STUCK IN THIS TOGETHER, AND THE **ONLY** CHANCE OF ESCAPING IS IF WE WORK TOGETHER, SO LIKE IT OR NOT, I AM GOING TO **HELP** YOU!"

With that See-More cranked his laser to full capacity, despite the permanent damage he knew he would do to his eye, took quick aim, and fired.

The red laser that shot from his eye was massive; at least three times the teen's width, and one-hundred times the force. The blast tore through one half of the beasts circling the dragon like they were nothing. Quickly noticing his opening, Malchior flew free from the beasts.

"Yes!" See-More cried, pumping a fist in the air. The teen looked overly thrilled despite being completely exhausted and having several new cracks decorating his lens. Malchior's red eyes regarded him quietly.

Suddenly, numerous tentacles launched themselves from mid-air and latched onto the unsuspecting thief. See-More did not even have time to gasp before they began dragging him back, their tentacles slowly disappearing back into the invisible void, threatening to take See-More with him.

"Help!" See-More cried violently as the tentacles continued to work their way up his body as they dragged him, the teen's widened eye was trained solely on the great hovering dragon, his one free arm stretched out towards it, "Please Malchi-!"

But the tentacles finally reached his face and covered his mouth, silencing his pleas, and still the dragon did not move. Malchior only watched as his human savior was being dragged into nothingness. It was only when See-More's feet started to disappear did a single, faint twitch of muscles sprang in one of the dragon's legs.

"Foolish boy!" a voice cried as a blue laser suddenly tore through the dimension, easily slicing through the tentacles snared around the teen. The tentacles loosened enough for See-More to slip out; his feet reappeared just as the remaining tentacles disappeared.

Malchior surveyed his surroundings, quickly noting the absence of the other creatures, before turning his attention toward his savior's savior. He snarled venomously. It was that elderly human, the one with the golden suit, he watched as the child hovered down to the rock his savior had stood on when he shot the blast.

"Thanks…for saving me," See-More said meekly, though still trying to catch his breath. Warp looked down at the child, his body was shaking, sweat was pooling down his face, and the lens of his mechanical eye was cracked and heavily damaged.

"Foolish boy," Warp repeated with a sigh, "You are lucky I bothered to come back at all, a few more seconds and you would have disappeared through that portal for good."

Warps words sent another chill through See-More, who was busy trying to forget what had just happened to him, the tentacles had been ice cold, they had seeped into his body like a disease, threatening to chill him to his core…to numb everything…

"That's just what you should expect from trying to help a thing like that…" Warp continued, his tiny eyes focused on something above the teen.

See-More turned to try and get a glimpse of Malchior, but his damaged lens showed him only a giant black blur in the sky. In fact, as See-More tried to look around him, everything was starting to look more out of focus.

"C'mon, child, we are going," Warp commanded, grabbing See-More's wrist and began dragging him across the rock.

"Going where?" the thief questioned, he turned his head to get another glimpse of the black blur, and as far as See-More could tell, it still hadn't moved.

"To find that blasted trumpet, where do you think!?" Warp shot back, neither slowing nor turning to face him, when they reached the edge of the floating rock the time-based villain released See-More's wrist.

"Do you have the strength to…fly?" Warp asked, his eyes once again focusing on See-More's damaged lens.

"Yeah but…I can't see all that well…" See-More said smiling sheepishly, pointing at his broken lens. Warp merely sighed.

"Just take the thing off then, it is no more use to you." Warp offered, already beginning to turn away from the boy.

"Well…if I did that…" See-More said, his smile falling a fraction, "Then I wouldn't be able to see at all…" The time traveling villain stared at the boy's downcast eye without speaking; he then lowered himself on one knee, and placed a hand on the teen's shoulder, lowering him as well.

"You are truly hopeless," Warp chided, he then raised a hand towards See-More's face, which to the teen looked simply like a giant golden blur, "This wont fully repair you, but it will certainly make you more useful."

Although See-More couldn't see what his companion was doing he could feel warmth against his face and could see a bright light reflected off his lens. In a matter of seconds the blurring of his vision had cleared up immensely, even many of the cracks had vanished, and the first clear thing See-More saw was Warp's hand, or more accurately, a completely altered version of it with tiny flames coming out of the index and middle finger and strange looking needles jetting out of the thumb, ring, and pinky fingers. See-More watched in awe as the flames slowly died and the blades sunk back into Warp's fingers, the small compartments sealed and the time master's hand appeared normal again.

"Warp your hand…it's…?"

"Animatronic?" Warp finished, raising his eyebrow at the teen, "Well of course it is, in my time most humans are given a robotic hand at birth, makes life much simpler."

"Whooooooooa, that's so cool!" See-More cried out, his single eye focused on Warp's hand.

"Yes, well, it is time for us to be moving," the elder of the two spoke, hiding his hand from See-More's view, "We have got a lot of dimension to cover."

"_**Then, perhaps, you humans will require some assistance."**_ A deep, roaring voice spoke up behind them. See-More felt a chill in his spine as a dark shadow fell over them, heavy wing beats drummed in his ears.

"How simple do you think we are!?" Warp shot, rounding on the great dragon, "We have not forgotten the last time you tried to 'help'!"

The dread dragon leered down at the small, golden human; his red eyes still had a feeling of malice and hate to them. But, as the dragon turned his attention to the teen, See-More saw some of that hate soften.

"_**You…boy, you risked your feeble life to save mine, while foolish, it is the only time in thousands of years that someone has done this for me…the only other time being my mate." **_

Even through his cracked lens See-More could read Malchior like a book, he was telling the truth, every word, a very deep, and powerful sadness had entered those eyes when he spoke that final word.

"Rubbish, I do not know why you bother, dragon, but your words are just poison trying to send us into some sense of security-."

"_**If I wanted to kill you, golden man, I would, without hesitation, but your slightly more intelligent friend has shown me that I can trust, at least one of you, with getting me out of this dimension."**_

See-More looked like he was about to speak, but Warp was quicker.

"Don't think I did not see you, dread dragon," Warp hissed, taking a step towards the beast, "If it weren't for my timely intervention you would have let your rescuer be swallowed up by the very same creatures he saved you from, so do not speak to me about trust, when you obviously have not learned it."

The dragon and the time traveler locked gazes for what seemed liked ages, until finally, Warp smirked and turned back towards the edge of the rock, preparing to jump.

"_**If you jump, you will fall," **_Malchior spoke, flying a little closer towards the two.

"What nonsense are you speaking of now?" Warp scowled, still facing the rock's edge, "This dimension does not have the same properties as earths, in case you haven't noticed, everything has the ability to float here."

"_**Wrong, human,"**_ Malchior hissed, his eyes deadly trained on the two, See-More was taken aback by the intensity of his words, _**"My eyes see more than your tiny ones do, those pale creatures bend the properties of this dimension as they will, you may not be able to feel it, but I see the weight in this air, I am forced to use my wings to fly, in case you haven't noticed, and if you foolishly step off from that rock, you will fall, perhaps for all eternity, with only yourself to blame."**_

Warp simply stared out into the dimensions strange colors for several seconds, without moving, until, finally, he walked a few steps to his left, picked up a tiny fragment of stone, and tossed it off the side of the large rock. The little rock plummeted as though it was 20 times its weight, quickly vanishing from view.

"…I hate dragons." Warp muttered darkly.

XXXXXXXXX

Time seemed to crawl as the trio flew through the endless dimension. The colors and the shapes of the sky appeared to blend together; even the rocks looked as though they were repeating shapes, hovering silently, motionlessly, as if watching their progress.

"I'm startin' to get the strange feelin' that we're being watched," See-More whispered, his damaged eye darting all over the place, not daring to miss the slightest change in movement, or the tiniest fragment of tentacle.

"Those creatures have made you paranoid," Warp observed, though he too kept checking the corner of his eyes, "If these things are in fact watching us, it matters not, they see now that we are a force to be reckoned with and will not strike without due cause."

"But we can't keep this up forever!" See-More pointed out, already feeling the weariness tug at the back of his eyes, "I've got a feelin' that those things don't need to sleep or eat as much as we do…"

"That is why it is imperative that we find that boy or his trumpet as soon as possible…" Warp continued but he soon trailed off, his eyes catching something, he quickly pointed towards a jumble of floating rocks.

"There! Dragon, past those rocks, I believe I have spotted something!"

"_**Truly? I have not seen anything," **_Malchior rumbled, See-More could easily see wariness in the great dragon's eyes as it turned its head towards them, _**"For your…meager human eyes to catch something mine did not…would be very unlikely."**_

"Do not think yourself so high and might 'oh dread dragon' Malchior," Warp sneered, "Or did you forget it took a_ meager_ human to save your worthless life?"

"_**If my life be so worthless, then perhaps I should have left you sitting, helplessly, on that rock…in fact…" **_The dragon's head then leaned dangerously close to Warp, smoke spewing from his great, toothy mouth, _**"If I am not mistaken I do not even require your presence, golden human, the younger has the ability to repair and could work the trumpet while you…or only good for one thing…**_

The dread dragon then opened its mouth wide, whether to devour the time warping villain or burn him to a crisp, See-More wasn't too keen to find out.

"Whoa, whoa guys hold up!" See-More cried, standing up between the two, "Malchior you do need Warp…no matter how much you might not want him, if that Titan's trumpet is broken or lost the only thing we have left to escape is Warp's space time thingy."

"It's a Space Time Dimensional-." Warp began, irritated only to be cut off by Malchior's frustrated grumble, the dread dragon turning his head to the cluster of rocks Warp had indicated.

"_**You should pray, golden human, to whatever gods you worship that that human child is slightly intelligent enough to spare you," **_Malchior hissed, he then turned his head a fraction, Warp's golden body reflected perfectly in the dragon's red eye, _**"Though, you should pray even harder that I do not discover the trumpet first…"**_

XXXXXXX

Although they merely found more empty space behind the mass of rocks Warp insisted that they continue down this route. Without any other option, and some gentle coaxing from See-More, Malchior flew them onwards.

"So, why did you decide to join with the Brotherhood?" See-More asked his quiet traveling companion, wanting to find some means of breaking the long silence as they flew. Warp was quiet for awhile but finally seemed to decide that he too was growing weary of the silence.

"Nearly all my life I have traveled through time," Warp said with a sigh, not looking at either See-More or the strange atmosphere around them, "As my father had done before me, and his father before him, and so on, for it was foretold that my family would do this for all of eternity, our tasks laid out before most of us were even born into creation, during my travels I have seen people and creatures of numerous race and species, but I never spoke with any, keeping my vigil and simply doing the tasks required from history."

"And what kind of tasks were those?" See-More asked, genuinely curious, though Warp still stared into space.

"Some justified, others not so much," Warp said simply, but he then turned to See-More, and the young thief saw something in those small, black eyes, and age old weariness, a burden that only an ageless time traveler could experience, "At one point I saved the lives of an entire species, at others I wiped them out entirely, it is not a burden that many could carry, but my family and I were destined to bear it."

"But what about the stealing? Are even minor things like that important?" See-More asked, thinking of Warp's first encounter with the Titans. At this, Warp smiled.

"Believe it or not, some of the things that appear minor turn out to be one of the more important events in this planet's history; I stole that device, simply believing it was because Fate had decreed that I was meant to steal it, but I was wrong, at least, I was wrong in thinking it ended there."

"I did not anticipate on having to encounter the Titans, for it was not foretold to me, but as the events un-folded I was slowly being shown Fate's plan, I was being used as an ending goal, for the Titan's to form stronger ties, so that they will continue to exist as a team, but not only that, for I was turned into an infant by the end of the chapter."

"An infant!?" See-More questioned his one eye wide.

"_**I can't have imagined that you were any quieter as a feeble babe."**_ Malchior commented, to which Warp justly ignored.

"What was it like…being a baby…again?" See-More asked.

"I do not know," Warp said simply, "But gaining my innocence again, then being raised by the Titans…it showed me that I was wrong in my belief of Fate, she is not solid, unmoving, but an ever changing current, with numerous channels, limitless paths; when I regained my age I found my suit in the Tower and returned back to my time, very grateful that She had preserved my mind while going through my youth, unfortunately, my family did not share my new views of Fate, they only seeing her as words written in stone, one path to be followed, so I left, or escaped rather, into time and space, knowing that I could never be found unless I wished, I was free to do as I pleased."

"So then…why join the Brotherhood…?"

"It was as Fate had decreed," Warp said, almost sadly, "Prior to my escape from my family, the only mistake I made during my Path was speaking to a young, Egyptian woman while I was busy trying to cause the death of her Pharaoh, she was one of his maid servants, and she had caught me sneaking around his palace, while I should have erased her mind and escaped, something compelled me to stay, to speak with the young woman, I explained to her that I was one of the new guards, simply on break, she bought my story fairly easily…I believe she was fond of me."

At this Malchior let out a snort of amusement, which Warp, again ignored.

"We spent the rest of that night talking, her about her life in the palace, and I about the made up life of a young boy growing up as a farmer's son and becoming one of the Pharaoh's guards through slavery. And, once we parted ways, instead of simply going to the past, which could also have the potential of erasing me from her memory, I merely walked out of the palace and returned another day to finish my job, and each task since then up until my leaving has not seen me to go farther back then the death of that Pharaoh, a clear sign that Fate had smiled upon my decision…and when I left my family, I felt alone…and I soon felt compelled to journey back to that time, shortly after I killed the Pharaoh, and speak with the woman again…"

Warp then fell silent, and the only sounds for the next few minutes were Malchior's heavy wing beats, even the dragon had no snarky comment to make at this point.

"What happened next?" See-More asked softly, not daring to look into Warp's eyes, afraid of what he might see.

"I stayed in that time period, my name was Yamanu, I found the young woman, living on her own as she had escaped the palace during the panic of the Pharaoh's sudden death, she recognized me easily and we quickly became good friends…then lovers…then parents…"

See-More could not avoid Warp's eyes any longer, and the deep striking sadness and guilt of his gaze nearly caused a tear to escape the young teen's eye gadget, the thief took a deep, internal breath, trying to calm himself.

"Her name wasMeskhenet, and the moment I saw her face I forgot everything of my past life, my family, my name, my purpose, even Fate herself, there was only my wife and my Meskhenet," Warp seemed to gain some focus back in his eyes, his mechanical hand began tracing the broken pieces of his armor, finally resting on the absent hole where his disk would have been, "But, it seems, fate had not forgotten about me, on the day my Meskhenet turned three, I felt the sudden urge to time travel, so that night I did just that, and sent myself a few years into the future…it was there I witnessed a dark sight; two graves, one made for my 'missing' body and the other for my then five year old child were buried near our small home on the out skirts of the village, inside the home itself it was absent, absent of my wife, and of any sign then there was a happy family living inside just a few years ago, furious and confused I attacked and interrogated a number of villagers, most supremely surprised to see the man who had gone missing exactly two years ago, not caring how it would affect time I demanded to know what happened to my daughter and my wife, they're answers did little to soothe me…my Meskhenet…shortly after my disappearance, contracted a strange and deadly disease that erased her life from the face of history in less than a day, my wife, in her grief, simply left our home, many suspect to wander the desert until she died…further questioning did not reveal much more answers, just speculation that the disease had to be from close contact, as no one else in the nearby village had contracted the disease, I returned back to my present, weeping, I hugged my very surprised family, assuring them that everything was fine but that I had to go for awhile, that I needed to find answers, and that I will be back soon, my wife…she was always understanding of my mysterious ways, I still do not think she believes the story I made up when we first met, I held my confused and crying daughter one last time before departing…"

"Warp…" See-More muttered, not knowing what to say, now simply waiting for the end of is companion's sad story, the time traveling man's eyes drifted back into nothingness, seeing things beyond this strange world.

"For the next ten years I traveled through the far corners of space and time, following any clues, any hints, any hope that I would find the cure of my daughter's strange illness…my journey eventually had me come in contact with the Brotherhood of Evil…for they were searching for me, searching for a way to get to that Herald Titan, I had long forgotten my 'quarrel' with the Titans and was about to refuse when they offered me a way to save my daughter, the Brain…somehow he knew of my journey, and he knew the answer to the question I seeked, they gave me a new mechanical hand…and he promised me the answer…if I served their plans."

Warp then fell silent, his eyes drifting into the atmosphere of the dimension, to See-More he could have been a million miles away, and not sitting mere feet away from him.

"And what…what was the answer?" The young thief asked almost…fearing the answer.

Yet before Warp could answer, something caught his eyes, and all of the drifting disappeared from his look.

"There!" the man hissed, pointing towards a massive, flat rock that floated far below them, "I saw something move on that rock!"

Without a word Malchior dipped his head and soared down towards the rock Warp had indicated. As they raced closer and closer towards the rock, See-More, even with his damaged eye, could see a shape in the direct center emotionless…and bluish/purple of color.

"He's right! I see something now; I think it's the Herald!" See-More declared, at those words Malchior let out a roar of satisfaction and dived even closer towards the rock, the two villains had to hang on tight in fear of being thrown off.

Malchior landed on the rock with a heavy thud, his two passengers eager to slide off his scaly body.

"_**Freedom, at long last!"**_ Malchior roared in delight, hurriedly making his way toward the figure in the center of the 'island'.

Not being able to hold back his own smile, See-More began to follow the dread dragon, only to be stopped by a firm grip encasing his wrist. For one fearful moment See-More thought it was the white creatures, back to pull him into the abyss again, but when he turned all he saw was Warp, staring intently at the center of the rock, his face stern, unsmiling. And in his eyes…all See-More saw was triumph.

He felt something cold and heavy drop down his throat and into his gut as he looked back at Malchior, the dragon still heading rapidly towards the center of the rock, ignoring all else, only seeing the goal at the end, only seeing his freedom. While See-More…could see a great deal more…

"_Malchior!" _See-More cried at the top of his lungs, _"Don't! It's a tra-!"_

A heavy blow then connected with the back of the teen's head, nearly causing See-More to black out. The thief fell to the ground, a powerful kick quickly followed into his gut; he lost his breath in one strangled gasp of air.

"Stupid boy," Warp hissed, his foot held up See-More's confused and dazed face by the chin, "You would not understand what I've had to go through, knowing, for a fact, that in the near future you would lose everything and being powerless to stop it, but now…I have the power, and I will not let some mindless, meaningless thief stand in my way of saving my family."

See-More could only left out a wheezing breath in reply, Warp dropped his head and turned away from the boy, his attention now fully trained towards the dragon. The great beast was indeed trapped; its neck, tail, and legs were ensnared by bindings of white light, held in the air above the ruined blue and purple remains of Herald's clothing.

"A simple trap, for a simple beast." Warp said a faint smile on his lips. Malchior, although trapped and at the mercy of Warp, looked uncharacteristically calm as his red eyes watched the golden human's approach.

"_**So this is your answer is it?"**_ Malchior questioned his powerful voice surprisingly calm, _**"This is the only thing that will save your daughter?"**_

"I am tired of wasting my years searching, dragon," Warp explained, his voice strained, weary, the usual confidence and bravery in the words he usually used to speak to the dragon seemed to have vanished completely, "The Brotherhood promised me the heart of a dragon, that eating it will cure all ailments."

"_**Those are the words of myths and legends," **_ Malchior replied, his red eyes solely trained on the man, _**"No man who has ever been so close to a dragon has lived to tell the tale, least of all had the opportunity to taste it's heart."**_

"I do not care," Warp spoke evenly, he then reached into his battered suit and slowly pulled out a gleaming trumpet, Herald's trumpet, "It is the only answer I have gotten in ten years of searching, ten years of failure, and I intend on finding the truth of this answer!"

"_**Human…please," **_Malchior hissed, his words, and the gentleness he spoke them in, caused even Warp to pause, _**"My mate died before we were able to bare children, so I cannot honestly say that I understand how you feel, but I do understand the importance of family…you are a good…human, do not taint yourself by doing this, there are other ways to save your daughter, do not resort to the easy route to save her…there can never truly be happiness for your family at the end of that path."**_

Warp seemed to contemplate the dragon's words, but as he stared into the dragon's eyes, something in his own held onto a deep belief.

"You believe this is the easy route?" Warp shot, his face contorting into rage, "For ten years, dragon, ten long years, I have lived with the knowledge that my wife and daughter were dead, that if I chose, I could see them, only to lose them soon after, I have given up everything to be with them, and I continue to give up more to ensure that they stay in my life, now Fate has shown me the true path, she has rewarded me for my sacrifice, the answer to my question now stands before me, all I need to do is chose, your life, or my family's?"

The two shared gazes for what seemed like ages, two creatures that could not be farther apart in appearance, but close enough to be considered family. The dragon's red eyes stared into the human's, a species he had hated and feared for centuries…it seemed only just that Fate decreed his end by that same creature…he hoped his mate would be waiting for him.

"_**Then…Yamanu…I do not blame you for your choice."**_ The dread dragon spoke, his head bowed towards the ground, eyes breaking their shared look.

"Thank you, dread dragon, Malchior." Warp breathed, he then raised the trumpet to his lips, preparing to do whatever means necessary to extract the heart.

Before the man could blow out a note of death, however, a red laser screamed through the air and rammed directly into Warp's back, sending the man into the ground, almost loosing grip of the instrument. In a surprised fury Warp turned his head to see See-More, hand to damaged eye dial, with a mixed look of exasperation and anger on his face.

"Can't you see what you're doing, Warp!?" See-More cried; hand still on the dial as he approached Warp, "This is not Fate! Nothing you've done here has been blessed by Her!"

"_Damnable brat!_ Do not speak to me as if you'd ever understand!" Warp snapped, standing up, but he was quickly silenced when another blast of a laser tore of the remaining armor on his shoulder.

"I understand enough, Yamanu," See-More said, chest heaving, face sweating, "Ever since you abandoned your family, you've abandoned your ideal of life, that much is true, but this new ideal, it is not Fate, it is _you_, going back to that woman, living with her, having your Meskhenet, was that all Fate's doing? Is She your sole reason for that happiness, that love? She does not exist for you any longer Yamanu, everything you did and everything you're doing now is all on you! And is this how you want your life to go down? You said it yourself that Fate has many different paths, well is this the one you want to go down, the one to be stained with blood and trickery?…if you told the truth to your family…the entire truth…would they be proud of you…would Meskhenet be proud of her father?"

Warp did not look at the teen as he spoke, his eyes trained at the ground, at the trumpet in his hands, and when See-More had finished the man did not speak. His eyes did not move, the teen and the dragon watched him carefully. When Warp finally did look up, See-More could not help but gasp, all he could see in those small eyes were tears, and the raw emotion was almost too much for the teen.

"Th-they do not have to know…" Warp said between tears, his words quickly snapped See-More back into reality, the time traveling man began to raise the trumpet to his lips, now pointed at the thief, "I am so t-tired, so tired of searching, so tired of loving a dead family…Fate or not, I will see my daughter cured!"

And with a triumphant blow, Warp let out a tremendous force from the trumpet, causing See-More to have to leap out of the way, the blast missing him by inches.

"_**No! I will not let you harm the boy!" **_ Malchior roared before firing a blast of his own at Warp, who in turn, leapt out of the way as well, the fire burning a scorching line into the rock.

"All I need is the heart! And this will be done!" Warp cried out, aiming the trumpet back towards the dragon, but before he could even press his lips to it a great spherical object rammed into him and absorbed him, trapping the villain in the clear eye bubble.

"Warp, stop this! You don't have to do this, there has to be another way!" See-More pleaded, his hand switching the dial from the phase he used to trap Warp.

"There is no other way child, not for me." The golden suited villain spoke plainly; he then blew a single note inside the bubble and stepped through the portal it created, disappearing from sight.

"Damnit!" See-More hissed, switching through the dials as he looked everywhere that he could, though in his damaged state it was impossible to see everywhere at once.

"_**Boy, behind you!" **_ Malchior warned, but too late for See-More, for even as he turned, he felt a small object attach itself to his chest. He heard a small turn, as if someone was setting an egg timer, before electricity surged through his body and into his eye gadget, he heard the sound of an explosion in his ears and a sharp pain in his eye, before his vision nearly failed him completely. The teen fell to the ground, screaming in agony as his device pulsed with electricity.

"I do hope you forgive me boy, in time." Warp muttered, looking down at the writhing teen.

"_**You shall wish you had not done that, human pest!" **_ The dread dragon swore, and then unleashed a series of fire balls, all subsequently dodged by Warp and his use of teleporting with the trumpet.

"Just give in dragon, relinquish your heart, and this will all be over," Warp insisted, now standing once again before the Malchior.

"_**This will only be over once your body lies in a smoldering ash!" **_ Malchior hissed, his mouth glowing orange. Warp merely sighed.

"I was going to do this nice and quick," Warp muttered, his mechanical hand slowly disappearing, quickly replaced by a long, thick blade, "But, it seems, you have forced my hand."

"_**Just try it human,"**_ Malchior dared, his trapped body poised for a battle to the death, _**"I have eaten better than you for an appetizer!" **_

"_**Enough!" **_a great voice, more powerful than even Malchior's cut through the air, causing both fighters to freeze and turn towards the noise. What they saw was a dark skinned teen, dressed in torn, singed robes, his furious eyes trained at the other equally as battered looking human.

"Just as your name implies, you have warped and twisted this entire dimension," Herald spoke, his voice, although stern, hinted at fear, "You speak so much about being careful, about not messing with things that are greater than yourself, but you have caused not only your own ruin, but perhaps the destruction of this entire dimension!"

"I am not threatened by you, or your foolish prophecies," Warp hissed, hands tight around the trumpet, "This realm dies when you do, besides, you have no real power here, all of your power is right here, in my hands, all I need to do is make sure you stay here when I take the heart and my deal with the Brotherhood is complete, end of story."

"W-Warp…" a meek, pain filled voice called out, the trio looked to See-More, his mechanical eyes was almost completely damaged, but he was on his knees twitching in pain, and looking directly to where Warp was standing, there was a slight smile on his face, "You know better than any of us that there is never really an end to any story…even if Malchior, Herald, and I die, we will still live on…in our friends…our family…in you, I don't need my eye to see that you don't have to do this…please, give Herald his trumpet…then we can all go home…please…"

"You are still but a child," Warp spoke, his eyes determined, his trumpet already rising to his lips, "You will never live long enough to understand as I do, there is only Fate."

And with that Warp raised his trumpet to the great dragon, to put an end to his journey, to give life to his family. But Fate, as the time traveling villain would have put it, had other plans for him.

The white tentacles reached from the air and fell down like rain upon the man. The first one grabbing the arm that held the trumpet, the second one grabbing the arm that held the blade, another grabbing his leg, another around his torso.

Warp let out a cry of panic and surprise, trying to move either arm to defend him, but the creatures had a strong grip, the one around his bladed arm even managing to rip away the arm entirely, causing Warp to scream in earnest.

"You say you know me, my life, my purpose, but you truly know nothing, Yamanu," Herald spoke evenly, and with a stretch of his hand the trumpet was pulled away from Warp's remaining hand, returning to its former master, "You spent your whole life, a slave to fate, not bothering to enjoy your own life, simply to serve, and the one instance you gave in to your instinct, you ignored it, and continued to be a slave, it has corrupted your thoughts, and your actions, and now, when you failed to save your only true success, there is no more hiding behind fate, you only have yourself to blame."

Warp merely cried out in return, the tentacles pulling apart not only his armor, but his body…yet instead of bone and muscles beneath the skin, a younger version of Warp appeared as the tentacles pulled him apart, and they continued to rend and tear, pulling layer after layer, revealing a younger and younger Yamanu, until finally, only a screaming baby remained of the time traveling villain, that was quickly pulled into the nothing, and vanished, leaving not a trace of the man behind.

As soon as Warp vanished, the light that trapped Malchior vanished and the device on See-More's chest crumbled and turned to dust. Yet it wasn't long before more of the white creatures began pulling themselves from the air, full tentacled bodies heading towards the remaining three.

"Quick! You guys need to get out of here, now!" Herald shouted, rushing over to See-More and helping the thief up.

"What about you?" See-More asked, still groaning in pain.

"Don't worry about me," Herald insisted with a smile, "This is where I belong, and as long as I have this trumpet here, I will be fine."

The Herald then rose up the trumpet, so See-More could see it better, only to have the fabled instrument suddenly crack, and quickly crumble to pieces in the Honorary Titan's hand. The Herald could only stare in shocked horror, his lower jaw falling nearly to the floor.

"What?" See-More asked, looking around blindly, "What happened?"

"This…can't be good…" Herald muttered, and as he tried to comprehend what just happened, a group of the white creatures descended on the two unsuspecting teens. Yet, before they could attack, a great stream of fire erupted into them, turning them into simple piles of ash, alerting Herald to his surroundings.

"_**We need to move, humans!" **_Malchior declared, sending another burst of fire into the advancing army of the white creatures, _**"Or else we will be overwhelmed!" **_

Herald nodded in agreement, moving as quickly as he could with his teenaged burden, yet before he could reach the dragon a great noise tore through the air. Everything seemed to freeze, the dragon, the teenagers, and even the faceless, white monsters stopped and seemed to look above them, where a small, portal swirled out of the orange and red colors of the sky. The Herald gasped as he looked up at it.

"It can't be…" the Titan breathed. Then a voice, unfamiliar to everyone, called towards them.

"_Adam! My son, I am here, you do not have to do this alone anymore!"_ the voice cried, and suddenly, tears fell from beneath the Herald's mask.

"That irrational fool." Herald said, with a smile on his face, in a quick motion he scooped up the thief in his arms and raced towards the dragon. The tentacled creatures were quick to move as well.

"Malchior! Take See-More and get out of this dimension, that portal will take you back to Earth, hurry!"

The dread dragon turned his great head towards Herald, and quickly nodding he reached one claw towards the Titan. Herald gently placed See-More in the dragon's claw, then, with a simple farewell nod, the teen raced towards the edge of the giant rock and leapt off, flying towards the unknown.

With a great roar, Malchior sent one final stream of fire into the creatures before flying off as well, using all the strength in his wings to reach the portal, though the tentacles beasts were close behind him. Even as the dragon quickly neared the portal and could see that through it lay the insides of some building, he could also see that the portal was far too small for his great body to get through.

Even as the great dragon's excitement faltered, however, his red eyes found the now sleeping child in his hand, a new determination driving him foreword.

"_**Child…See-More….you have become…perhaps the closest thing to a friend I have experienced, though you are still a meager, foolish human…I…thank you for everything you have done for me, and I ask only one last thing before I send you off," **_The dread dragon looked down again at the sleeping human, he really hoped his subconscious would catch this pathetic request, _**"There is a book, in a chest in the room of the Teen Titan, Raven, retrieve the book…it is the only way you can free me from this…now…"**_

The dread dragon was nearly on top of the portal now, he could see more humans inside, humans with lab coats and guns, Malchior smiled a giant, toothy smile.

"_**Let's give them an entrance they won't soon forget!"**_

And with his mightiest of roars Malchior shot a big blast of fire into the portal, making sure it had done its damage inside before throwing the sleeping teen in after it. The portal quickly shrunk out of existence after that, though Malchior still stared at where it once was.

"_**Take care of yourself…human." **_The great dragon spoke before turning on the mass of white creatures bearing down on him, _**"As the golden human fool would say…time to kill some time."**_

And with a roaring laugh Malchior flew into the hoard, fire breathing, talons thrashing, and enjoying every last second of it.

_**To Be Continued…**_


	6. Fatalities

**The Wicked One**

**Chapter 6: Fatalities **

**XXXXXXXXX**

It had been a very, very long time since I had last broken into anything. I did not realize exactly how long until I felt the excitement of bashing the guard's heads together, the adrenaline of using my powers to phase through the security doors, the anticipation eating at my stomach of not know what was going to happen next. It was all a breath of fresh air, at least for the moment.

In the end Red X and I found ourselves inside the military base, in some lobby looking room with a reception desk, tables, chairs, magazines, the works, though there were no people.

"So, where's our welcoming committee?" Red X questioned, pacing around the room with folded arms, "Those defense turrets didn't give me _close_ to the excitement I was hoping for."

I merely shrugged, slightly disappointed at the lack of security as well, I was starting to have fun…

"Fixit has most of the security taken care of down here." A familiar robotic voice informed as the mechanical orb hovered into the room, its red eye surveying everything, "The military will not be as compliant as security however, so there is still plenty of excitement to be had further a long, just continue down that hallways across the room and up the stairs, he will be waiting for you Red X."

"For me?" the thief inquired, him and I sharing a look, "You mean silent and creepy over there isn't going with me?"

"No. I have a different assignment for him." Blackfire responded bluntly. Red X merely shrugged.

"Ah well, more for me." He replied, already making his way across the room, he then threw a hand out in farewell, "It was fun Wykkyd, good luck." Then the thief disappeared down the hall.

"As you might have guessed, the initial plan was to have you both go in, grab Fixit, and leave as quickly and with as little…distractions as possible," Blackfire began, the robotic orb hovering closer to me, I couldn't help but take a tiny step back, the collar still felt uncomfortably cold around my neck, "But Fixit has been giving me constant reports about what is going on around here, and it seems that rouge scientist I mentioned earlier has become much more of an interest to my plans…"

One of the small flaps on the robot suddenly flew open, and while I visibly flinched the little claw that came out did not hold another torture device, in its grip rested a large piece of paper.

"It's a map, take it…I promise it won't bite." Blackfire assured, it was easy to hear the smile in her voice that time. With a slow but deliberate reach I carefully grabbed the map. "You will need to head up from here, straight through the ceiling, if you can, in that room you will find several hallways and more guards, if you're lucky, take the hallway leading in the direction of the largest room on the map. I want you to find the renegade scientist in there, find a way to restrain him, and take anything you find on him, specifically blue prints, if you find nothing make your way to the scientist's dormitories, they are the rectangular rooms lined up together against one side of this warehouse. You should not run into too much resistance if Red X does his job correctly, but do not tarry, get in there, get the blue prints, and get out. We will all meet back at the rendezvous point. Any questions?"

I heaved my chest in an attempt at a sigh, folding my arms and giving the android a dead look.

"I thought not." Blackfire said with a smile still in her voice, "Now, get moving."

I simply nodded, tucking the map into a pocket and grabbing my cloak. I wrapped myself into its cold embrace and fell into darkness, when my feet felt solid ground again I pulled back my cape to reveal a bare room with multiple hallways leading in different directions. Looking around the small room I quickly took notice of several unconscious guards leaning against the wall. Looks like Red X has already been through here.

Pulling out the map I took note of where I was and connected the hallway on the map to one of the ones in this room, the one that led to the largest room in the base. The large square on the map seemed to dwarf the others, it nearly took up a third of the base, and one could only wonder what that room was used for.

A sudden moan broke away my attention from the map and quickly folding it back up inside a pocket I looked back over at one of the supposedly unconscious guards. The guard moaned a little louder, his head rolling around his shoulders, and I could see the eyes beneath his helmet open a little and dazedly fixate on me.

"Are you…a Teen Titan?" the guard asked in another pained moan. I began to approach the man, prepared to finish what Red X started when the man started speaking again, "Please…you have to stop him…he's gone crazy…going to…destroy this entire city…"

I raised a curious brow. I assumed the guard was speaking of the rogue scientist… unless he was speaking of the boy who had just recently knocked him out. But that was crazy, as far as I knew Red X's only interests were thieving and that strange stuff that gave him all the powers…but then, what were Blackfire's interests?

Did she just want to escape…or did she desire something more?

I shook my head clear of these thoughts. None of this was my concern; all I wanted was to get my friends back. So without further hesitation I reached the injured guard and pinched him in a spot near his neck, squeezing the nerve until he was unconscious. The only useful move Billy Numerous ever taught me.

After briefly checking the other possibly semi-unconscious guards I made my way down the hallway I had marked on my map. The walk itself was quiet and uneventful. After leaving the first room of the warehouse the rest of the building seemed like one would assume a military base would appear, dull and metallic. My footsteps echoed in the wide hallway and I swear I could hear my own heart beat.

Strangely enough the quiet unnerved me. I didn't notice right away but I was completely tense and wary, my red eyes looking every which way as I moved. Multiple spots on my body continued to itch, to which I tried to ignore, but an unsettling heat began to sink beneath my costume that was growing more and more suffocating, and for the first time in my life I desperately wished for a voice to fill the void of silence.

That wish was soon, if not immediately, answered when a horrible scream suddenly filled the expanse of the hallway. I literally jumped back misstep, the sound being that loud and sudden. I grabbed my cloak as a reflex but I didn't immediately teleport. The scream died quickly, though I could still faintly hear it travel down the hall behind me. Was it more of Red-X's sloppy work…or something worse?"

Still gripping my cape I continued down the hallway, the strange heat and emptiness feeling gone and forgotten. Getting these blue prints might turn out to not be as simple as it seemed. Like that was a big surprise.

I picked up the pace when I noticed the end of the hallway spilt off in a few more directions. Confused, I pulled out my map, the hallway I believed I was on should not be splitting in any direction…I should be inside the giant room right now…

After looking from the map to the splitting hallways a few times I began to grow frustrated and itchy again. Perhaps I was on the wrong floor…

So, gripping my cape once again, I leapt into the air and pulled it around my body. Removing it again a moment later brought a cold blast of air to my face. Shaking away the sudden shock I looked around me and quickly realized I was standing on the roof of the warehouse.

This is impossible, I thought to myself as I walked slowly across the roof, staring up at the numerous stars in the sky. I had only gone up two stories…this building had to have at least four…

I looked back at my map…but now it seemed like the all the rooms had changed! The giant room that took up a third of the building seemed to have disappeared entirely, replaced by a multitude of tiny rooms. I stared at the map in disbelief, was this some kind of joke? Was Blackfire sending me on some kind of wild goose chase? In a sudden fit of aggravation I crumbled up the map and threw it, I watched as it sailed through the air and hit an unsuspecting guard taking a smoke break against the ledge of the roof.

"What the…hell!" The guard exclaimed, dropping his cigarette as he jumped in surprised, fumbling with his rifle he quickly caught sight of me in the dark, "Who the hell are you! Hands up or I'll shoot!"

I moved before the guard had time to regain his composure. I ran, pulling the cape around my shoulders and, reaching the edge of the roof, I leapt off. I threw the cape around me, preparing myself to land back into the hallway I was in previously, only to have my vision filled entirely by the backside of the guard I had just attempted to escape from. I heard him yell in surprise as I collided into him, sending us both into the ground.

"Get off me!" The guard screamed, flaring his arms around, a bright burst of pain hit me as his elbow collided with my nose. I quickly rolled away from him before his antics caused me anymore harm.

"Where did you go damnit!" The guard exclaimed fumbling for the gun in his panic. I looked over to the edge of the roof to find it balancing dangerously over it. I quickly walked over and kicked the gun the rest of the way off. Cradling my still throbbing nose I quickly searched for an exit, not desiring to use my cloak for the moment.

A tight grip on my shoulder reminded me of the guard I had momentarily forgotten.

"Found you!"

Instinctively I ducked as my other instinct turned me towards the guard, avoiding the fist he had waiting for me, and sent an open palm into the man's gut. Thankfully the guard seemed to indulge in more than just cigarettes as his gut was soft and doughy, the force of my palm was more than enough to lose his grip and have him double over. The guard fell to his knees and I quickly took the opportunity to put some space between us. The man remained there for a few moments, trying to catch his breath and I began debating whether to just quickly knock him out or try and figure out a way to interrogate him when he spoke.

"Are you working for that rogue scientist?" the gasped, looking up at me, though I couldn't make out any distinct features in the dark of the night, "Who is he damnit!"

I simply stared back at the guard. Even if I did have the answer and a voice to speak it I doubted it very much that I would tell him, he wasn't exactly in the position to be demanding answers. After several more seconds of silence the guard seemed to grasp the same thought as he coughed awkwardly before trying again.

"Whatever he's offering you…we would double it…triple it…anything, please if you have information on how to get to him…" I then heard him gasp in sudden realization and look over in the direction that I had thrown the map. We suddenly were on the same page again as the man tried to get up and I raced over to him. Before he could turn to face me I sent a hard kick into his gut.

The man let out a horrible gurgle, it sounded as if he was about to throw up before he fell back to the ground, wrapping his arms around his belly.

"Cheap shot…bastard…." The guard moaned. Without paying him any more mind I made my way over to where I believed the crumpled ball had landed. Before I could find it however, a particularly loud groan caught my attention.

"I have a message for that child thief, you mind giving it to him?"

I turned just in time to see the guard, still on the ground, with one hand keeping him up, the other holding a gun, pointing directly at me. Time slowed down in that moment and my body quickly switched into survival mode. Without wasting a second I ran straight at the man with the gun.

I could see his face now, even in the dark, it shone with fury, but was slowly shifting to surprise. I knew he would only have time to fire one shot before I was on top of him, I could only hoped it was a bad one. The guard fired and I felt instant, searing pain, but I ignored it long enough to get close enough to launch myself at him. Before the man could react our bodies collided once again and with a final burst of strength I threw my cape over everything, sending us into the cold darkness.

XxXxXxX

"Blackfire, I think something's wrong." Red-X spoke into the communicator device in his ear.

"_What? More unexplained unconscious bodies?"_ he heard the Tamaranian's voice respond inside his head, _"I'm sure it's just Wykkyd making bad use of his time."_

"No, it's not that," Red- X said impatiently, stepping over a said unconscious guard as he made his way up a flight of stairs, "This map you gave me…I think it's of the wrong building or something…"

"…_and why would you think that?"_ Blackfire's voice questioned, almost hesitantly.

"Well, for instance, I've been going up this flight of stairs for about thirty minutes, going up dozens of stories, and this map tells me this building only has four…and in fact…"

Red-X stopped when the stairs reached the next floor, peering through the doorway he let out a groan. "I swear I've seen that potted plant at least six times now. You know Blackfire, I'm starting to get the feeling you didn't tell me everything I needed to know."

"…_listen Red-X, how much Zinotheum do you have?"_

The thief was caught off guard by the questioned but a smile slowly grew beneath his mask. His fingers traced over the vials at his belt.

"Enough to turn this building into dust a couple hundred times, why?"

"_I want you to go into that floor and start blasting through the walls; though I trust you know how to contain it enough not to bring this entire building down on us."_

"But of course," Red-X replied, smile still on his face, "Though, may I ask, will there be a purpose to this?"

"_Same purpose, different method. I will be sure to notify Fixit to avoid walls until you find him. Oh and if you need to change stories blast through floors or ceilings, is that clear? Avoid the stairs."_

"Blow up things until I find Fixit and be sure to avoid stairs, loud and clear."

"_Good. Radio silence until I contact you again, it might be traveling through our communication waves to." _

"What might?" Red-X questioned, his curiosity sparked, though Blackfire didn't reply. The thief simply shook this off, already loosing himself to the excitement of his precious element. Red-X walked through the doorway, rubbing his hands together. It's been so long since he was last able to do this.

Walking up to the closest part of the wall near him, Red-X pressed a few unseen buttons on his wrist; he could already feel the heat begin to intensify on his palm.

"I always wondered what Robin planned for this." Red-X mused to himself, preparations done he walked closer to the wall and pressed his palm against it. He pushed against it until he felt the heat leave his hand. As soon as it was gone the thief raced away from his spot and through the doorway where the stairs were. Poking his head out, he spotted a small, red x on the wall, roughly the size of his hand.

"Three…" Red-X whispered to himself as he watched the x, "Two…One…."

The small x then began expanding, at a rapid rate. In less than a second the tiny x grew until it stretched across the entire expanse of the wall. It was only when it began to glow that Red-X hid his face. Though even through the doorway the thief could feel the intensity of the X and then…it was over. With a delighted sigh Red-X walked out of his cover and back into the hallway to examine his work.

The wall was gone. Simple as that. So little of its existence remained that one could almost believe that his warehouse was built without it. No rubble, no smoke, no mess at all. Just a bunch of now revealed, empty rooms, all missing a part of the wall that disappeared. Constantly checking the supports that remained before walking into each room, though none of them held any cowering scientists.

"Ah well," Red-X said with a shrug and a smile, already rubbing his hands together again, "More where that came from, plenty more."

XxXxXxX

Coldness, colder than the natural darkness that surrounded my almost daily journey, sunk deep into my core. I hardly felt the guard struggling against my grip. Not that it really mattered if he struggled or not, it was never a long journey.

And right on cue the journey was over. In a split moment the darkness had vanished, revealing the world before us, a solid steel wall.

The guard and I hit the wall with full force. I heard him grunt in surprise before I felt the impact myself. Instantly I felt the desire for a voice again as pain suddenly vibrated from my shoulder. I rolled for a minute across the cold steel floor, gripping my throbbing shoulder.

"My word, what in the devil was that!" I heard a voice call out, followed by, "Is that…that's Sherman! And…well I suppose that must be a Teen Titan the way he appeared out of nowhere like that."

"You idiots! Don't just stand around gawking, grab a sheet and tie the bastard up and let's see to the Titan, it looks like he was shot."

Through the haze of pain I could see several figures clad in white moving around the small room. Two of them grabbed a sheet and made their way to the fallen guard. The third made his way towards me. The pain in my shoulder flared up as I tried to maneuver away from him.

"Easy there Titan, I'm only here to help you," the man spoke as he reached me, he then kneeled down, "It looks like you're bleeding pretty badly there."

Confused, I reluctantly pulled my hand away and sure enough, my vision was filled by red. My hand was coated in a bright shade of blood.

"Now I'm a scientist, not a doctor, but getting this bullet out should be the first thing to do."

The man then extended a hand towards me but I flinched back away from him, holding out a halting hand. Before the man could try to argue, I used my bloody hand to pull the cape over my injured shoulder. Then, after taking a calming breath, I plunged my hand through the outside of the cape, and into the inside of my shoulder.

I could feel the screams desperately cry to claw their way out of my throat as I dug through the muscles in my shoulder, and as soon as I felt the hard metal of the bullet I gripped as many fingers as I could around it and pulled.

"Well I'll be damned." I heard the man breath as I felt the bullet leave my shoulder. I threw the accursed thing as hard as I could.

"Ow!" I heard a shrill voice cry, "What the bloody hell was that!"

"Never mind it," the man beside me snapped, "did you two take care of Sherman yet?"

"'Course we did, limey bastard is as limp as a noodle right now, must of hit his pretty little noggin' during that fall."

"Good, good. Now pass me another sheet, we need to get this Titan's wound cleaned up."

At those words I held up another halting hand.

"What? Don't tell me you have the powers to heal wounds as well?"

I shook my head and began to stand up. The man reached to assist me but I maneuvered myself away from him. After a few moments of stumbling I managed to stay up on shaky feet and, after looking around the bare room, made my way to the only remaining bed with a sheet. I felt the other scientist's eyes on my back as I tore strips of the sheet and wordlessly wrapped them over the wound in my shoulder. After tying it and making sure it was tight and secure I let my cloak fall over it, hiding it from view.

I looked around the small room as my vision began to clear. It had no windows and only one door. Two beds, both missing their covers, were pushed up against one wall; the only other furniture was a small work table in the corner with different colored vials, tubes, and other weird looking sciencey equipment. It reminded me of Gizmo's room.

"So, you are a Teen Titan then?" the scientist with the British accent asked, I turned in the direction of this voice to see a fairy tall and lankly man with short, curly hair and wide rimmed glasses. Behind him stood a shorter, but far wider man, he was completely bald and wore circular dark tinted glasses; he too was watching me with a look that I guessed to be curiosity.

I simply nodded to the tall one's question.

"Really now?" the tall one shared a look with the fat one, "I don't remember ever seeing you running around with those other colorful blokes, do you Stanley?"

The fat scientist merely shook his fat head.

"What does it matter?" a voice spoke up, I turned to see another scientist, shorter than his two companions but with slightly more muscle tone. His face looked as though he hadn't shaved in weeks, and he smelled, horribly. I tried to ignore this as he walked closer, smile on his face. "Titan or not he still brought us Sherman; we finally have something that might get us out of this hell!"

"Bastard…scientists…" a low voice mumbled.

"Oi! Speak of the devil!"

"Well, hey there Sherman, you remember me don't you?" the smallest of the scientists asked, smile still on his face as he walked over to Sherman and knelt down so that they were eye level.

"…Durmstraste?"

"Ah ah ah, let's skip the formalities, its Bosko, remember? Just, Bosko."

Sherman shared looks with the short man for only a short while longer before his eyes began to trail around the room. He looked over at the scientists, then at me, then at the vials on the table. When his journey ended he seemed to finally realize his situation and began to try and jerk his arms free from the bindings.

"Now, now, we can't have any of that," Bosko then shared a look with the fat scientist, "Stanley, you mind restraining him?"

The man simply nodded before going over to the small table. He silently grabbed a syringe and, inserting it in a vial with yellow colored liquid, extracted the chemical through the needle. He then walked nonchalantly over to the still squirming guard. Without any words Stanley stepped one foot over the guard's back and sat down roughly on top of him. Sherman let out a surprised grunt of pain and began to thrash more frantically until the fat scientist held the needle against his neck, the point pressed against his skin.

"Smart man." Bosko spoke as he watched Sherman's frozen form, "What you have mere millimeters from piercing your skin is a very potent serum that, upon contact with your blood stream, will send immense pain straight to your brain, prolonged effects of this will cause permanent paralysis in most of your body… and that's only what is certain."

"…What do you want?" The guard asked after taking a slow, careful breath.

"_We_ want out of this room, and out of this god forsaken building." Bosko spoke in a hushed but deathly tone as he stared at Sherman, "I know Bradley knows how to get around this place, and you're going to tell me how he does it."

"What? I don't know anything about that!" Sherman said earnestly. Bosko and Stanley exchanged looks.

"Stanley."

"Wait…wait! Please don't!" the guard wailed as Stanley placed a steadying hand on his head, "I…I did over hear him telling his men to use their grenades and detonators… and to be careful of how they used them. But that's all, I swear! I went out to get a smoke break right after that…forgetting for a second about what I was doing and then I got lost as well!"

"So you say…" Bosko muttered, mostly to himself.

"Cheeky bastard is lying through his teeth," the British scientist spoke up, taking a few steps towards the fallen guard,"Grenades and detonators he says! And for what? To blow straight through the walls of this establishment? We know as good as our little friend here that the general is a smart bloke; he knows his men are blooming idiots! He would never have them blow through this building; they would have it crashing down on our bloody heads before you could say 'bloody brilliant!' and he knows it!"

"No, please! You don't understand!" Sherman cried when he noticed that Bosko seemed to take what his colleague said in consideration, "This whole thing has gotten into his head something bad, he'll do anything to reach the rogue scientist! Before I got lost a good number of our men had either been found dead or gone missing, and with his new orders to simply blow the place down the numbers will only rise!"

"Well that's just a damn shame, Sherman." Bosko muttered, his eyes never leaving the guard captain's face.

I watched this entire exchange from against the far wall. My shoulder, down through my arm, had fallen almost completely numb, with the occasional throb of pain, so it was easy to ignore. All of the scientists looked desperate, almost crazed, the guard seemed to have more control, but I could tell it wasn't an easy façade for him to keep up; the sweat nearly glistened off his face. I looked over at the only door in the room, thinking about how my teleportation acted up, even if it was unlocked, I somehow knew that it wouldn't matter.

"You…Titan, does your presence mean that the Teen Titans somehow learned of what is going on around here?"

My attention broke from the door when I realized that all eyes in the room were suddenly on me. Bosko's being the most intense. I simply stood there, not knowing how to respond, and it wasn't long before the small scientist lost his patience.

"Are you hearing me, Titan?" Bosko asked, standing up and facing me fully, "Are you and the others here to save us from this! Answer me damnit!"

"Oi, maybe he's that mute bloke, I heard some fellows talking about there being some new Titan who didn't speak." The British scientist chimed in helpfully.

"That doesn't mean he can't nod or shake his head." The small scientist spoke underneath his breath, his eyes still focused on me, "It is a simple yes or no question after all…"

I felt the cold touch of the wall before I even knew I had backed into it. Bosko took a determined step in my direction.

"So here's another simple question." Bosko said venomously as he slowly continued to approach, I grabbed the hem of my cloak with my good hand, not entirely sure what would happen in my condition, but prepared to do it none the less. Bosko then stopped his approach when we were only a few feet apart. He sneered.

"Are you a Titan…or not?"

I stood my ground, knowing that I wouldn't be able to give him an answer, and knowing that he was more than likely going to attack me. But, before anything at all could happen, I happened to look over past the fuming Bosko, to where Stanley still sat on top of the bounded guard. Sherman no longer looked frightened; in fact, he suddenly had a look of severe determination.

Before I could draw any conclusions Sherman burst into action. With what looked like his entire effort the guard managed to push himself up off the ground momentarily, using his chest and gut. While it was only for a moment it was enough to catch the distracted Stanley off guard and force him off. Without wasting a moment Sherman rolled across the ground, stopping when he reached one of the beds, with another force of effort the guard slowly pulled apart his arms, the sheets tearing loose. Bosko turned back around just as Stanley began to stand back up."

"Stanley-." Bosko began to order, only to be cut off when Sherman removed his now free hands from underneath the bed. I felt my stomach drop when I saw the pistol clenched in one of them. In less than a second Sherman aimed his pistol and fired, the single shot sailing right through Stanley's forehead.

The large scientist stood there for a moment, surprise and horror showing clear through his tinted glasses, before falling back down to the ground for the last time.

"Damnit Collins! I told you two to make sure it was tight enough!" Bosko roared, his fists clenched as he glared at Sherman.

"I…I thought…he…I…" the British scientist babbled as he backed into a wall, his eyes rapidly switching from Stanley's body, which now began leaking blood, to the gun in Sherman's hand.

"I didn't want to do this." Sherman breathed, his gun now aimed directly at Bosko, "But you god damned scientists did this, I _know _you did, whatever that damned rogue scientist is doing…I can't remember who _he_ is, but I remember you three were his colleagues, you all worked together on that…whatever the hell that was…"

"You remember because you were stationed as our personal guard Sherman," Bosko said slowly, his eyes now on the gun, "You might not remember this, but you and your daughter came to visit us all the time when we were working, your girl was very interested in becoming a scientist herself…"

"Don't you _dare_ talk about my daughter," Sherman hissed, his gun now pointing at Bosko's head, "It's because of you and your damn colleagues that she's probably…that she's…"

"Believe me, my colleague acted on his own, he abandoned us and left us in this prison. Like you, I don't remember who he is; I just know that he exists. But we are just as much the victims as you are, trust me."

"Victims!" the guard exclaimed, spitting out the world, "You have no idea what it feels like to lose someone close to you!"

"You just shot my friend in cold blood," Bosko said, his words coming out cold and slow as he glared at Sherman, "I believe I have an idea of what you're feeling."

The guard paused at this, his eyes glancing over at the fallen body on the ground. A large pool of blood was now forming around the head.

"I do what I have to." Sherman said, quietly, his gun still pointed as Bosko as he turned his attention back to the small scientist, "Don't make this harder than it needs to, if you let me knock you out and bind you I promise that will be the end of it, I just want my daughter."

"If you leave this room you'll be a dead man," Bosko insisted, "If you walk out that door you will lose all chances to find your girl, you know that."

"I _don't_ know that!" Sherman shouted, taking a few steps towards Bosko, gun still pointed at him, "Maybe I will run into the general or another guard…or someone…" Sherman looked completely helpless in that moment, but when Bosko took a step towards him he instantly regained his focus and he put his back against the wall, inching his way towards the door.

"I'm going now," Sherman spoke, his gun going between the three of us now as he made his way closer to the door, "No one try anything stupid."

"I'm sorry, Sherman, but I can't let you go, you might be the only chance I have to get out of here." Bosko said, taking a few steps in Sherman's direction.

"Don't take another step!" Sherman cried, his gun now pointing solely at Bosko again, "I swear I will shoot!"

I watched as Bosko halted for a moment, the determination still in his eyes. If I wanted to I could try to go for the guard, to grab his gun, though I knew from experience he was a quick shot, and I couldn't risk another one of those. Thankfully, I didn't have to.

"The bloody hell you are!" a shrill voice cried, and I watched as Collins raced across the small room. Sherman turned with his gun on a dime, as if he was expecting this, and fired. Collins recoiled from the shot but his pace hardly faltered and he barreled into the guard, took the hidden syringe he held in his hand and jammed it into Sherman's thick neck.

Sherman let out a howl of pain and Collins fell off off him and on to the floor. Whatever color remained in the thin scientist's face drained away as a red plume began to spread out of the hole in his chest. The guard grunted as he pulled the needle out of his neck, though as soon as he did he appeared to have lost his balance as he fell into the wall and slid down.

"Damn scientists…" Sherman growled as he tried to stand with little success.

"I'm sorry Sherman, but I can't have you leave." Bosko said with finality, he then turned his attention to me, "Grab more sheets and tie him up, and please make sure you do a better job than my colleagues di-."

Bosko was cut off however when a loud shot rang through the small room. The small scientist was then on the ground, gripping his now bleeding leg.

"Damnit Collins!" Bosko roared to the dead scientist, "The fool didn't use enough serum…"

I looked from Bosko to the guard now sitting against the wall, his gun forever pointed at the remaining scientist.

"You…will….not…keep me…from my….daughter…" Sherman swore, sweat dripping down his face, his massive gut rising and falling rapidly. I stood rooted in place as his finger began to squeeze the trigger. Do I risk my own life for someone I didn't even know? Could I just watch as he killed another person in cold blood?

Before I could reach some sort of conclusion the wall behind the guard began to glow red. It was dull at first, but in mere seconds the brightness increased so much that I had to cover my eyes, even then I could still see red through the blackness. I heard Bosko gasp in a mixture of pain and surprise somewhere near me.

"What…in the…hell…?" I heard Sherman breathe. The brightness then got so intense that even through my eyelids and cloak I thought I was going to go blind. Then…nothing. The light dulled from behind my eye lids and I know longer heard the guard's breathing or threats.

"Christ…" I heard Bosko gasp before I finally dared to open my eyes. What I saw took a moment for my brain to comprehend. Both the guard and the wall he had been leaning against had vanished, entirely. The walls, ceiling, and floor that were previously attached to it now simply stopped in mid air, as if there never was a wall they were connected with.

As my brain still tried to make sense about what was going on a dark cloaked figure stepped into the newly opened space. His skull mask focused immediately on me.

"So _this_ is where you've been hiding, eh?" Red-X asked, hands on his hips as he looked from me to around the room, his focus stopped momentarily on the bodies on the floor, "Killing people now? I didn't think that was your style."

I shook my head hopelessly, knowing I couldn't explain even if I wanted to.

"Red-X?" Bosko muttered I looked over to see the small scientist still gripping his bleeding leg, sweat dripping down his face; he then looked over at me, "Guess that means you aren't a Titan then."

I shook my head, not seeing any point to stall anymore.

"Then… what are a couple of crooks doing in a military warehouse?"

"Well that's none of your business now is it?" Red-X said with a wag of the finger, he then stepped away from the room, "This room is a dead end to I guess, c'mon Wykkyd, this search will go a lot smoother without having to wonder what sort of trouble you're getting into."

I let out a silent, annoyed sigh before making my way over to him.

"Wait!" Bosko cried out, Red-X and I turned our attention to him again, the small man was still standing on his injured leg, though it seemed with great effort, "If, by chance, you're trying to reach the major laboratory, I can take you there. The bastard may have erased my memories of who he was but I still know where we worked on our major project! If he is going to cause this much trouble over something-I bet you anything it's going to be that."

"You don't say?" Red-X spoke, hands on his hips as he studied the scientist, "It just so happens my employer may be interested in that, mind filling us in on what it is exactly?"

"There isn't any time!" Bosko nearly shouted, finally succumbing to the pain he fell to the floor, breathing heavily, "He has been loose…for almost a week…if we don't reach him soon…"

Bosko took in a deep breath, his face growing a few shades paler.

"Losing too much blood eh?" Red-X observed, looking down at the scientist's leg, he then let out an annoyed sigh, "We'll if you're going to be any use to us we're going to have to do something about that leg."

Seeing it as my cue I began to walk towards the man. Bosko observed me with suspicious eyes.

"You're not going to…stick your hand inside my leg…are you?"

"Oh? You're going to go through all that trouble Wykkyd?" the thief asked, walking over to the work table and picking up a rather sharp looking saw, "I was going to suggest we just cut the thing off."

Bosko seemed to grow even paler, though not from loss of blood. He shared one final look with me before closing his eyes tight and burying his face into one of his arms.

"Just make it quick, damnit!"

I nodded silently before walking over to the scientist and kneeled down beside him. His free hand still gripped the wound; I managed to pry it away with some effort, revealing the rather small hole in his thigh. Without another pause I pulled my cape over his leg and with one deep breath I plunged my hand through the fabric.

"Son of a-!" Bosko cried out, but he caught himself in his own shout when he realized it was already over. I was already standing over him, a bleeding bullet held tightly between my fingers as I presented it to him.

"I think I'm…going to….faint."

"Not until you show us where to go you're not!" Red-X ordered, ripping off more of the sheet that had already been ripped. He then quickly walked over to the bleeding scientist and wrapped it tightly around his wound.

"Now then, can you stand?"

Bosko looked from Red-X to me, unsure of himself, and taking a deep breath the small scientist tried to lift himself, but only managed to stay on his feet for no more than a second before falling against me.

"It's all I can do to stand," Bosko muttered, gripping my shoulder for support, "Damn Sherman was always a good shot..."

"Fine, fine, I might have something that will make you slightly more useful," Red-X said mostly to himself as he dug in the bags that clung to his belt, with a satisfied grunt he pulled out what looked like a small metallic rod, "Here."

Red-X then casually tossed the rod, which quickly expanded to the length of a staff before falling into the extended hand of the scientist. Bosko and I looked at the very familiar weapon, then at the thief who stole it.

"It was a gift from an old friend." Red-X replied casually, a rather large smile in his voice.

XxXxXxX


	7. Gateway

_**The Wicked One **_

_**Chapter 7: Gateway**_

_**XxXxXxXxXxX**_

"I didn't ask for any of this you know. I didn't ask to be born with a mind craving for science, for truth. Hell, when I was a kid I wanted to be the wind. Yes, something never seen but always felt, always giving life…Perhaps that is what she saw in me when we first met. A child with foolish ideas, a man with even more foolish ideals. She did stay with me though, until the very end of it all…I dare not think about what _she_ would think if she saw me now…risking my life…going against the military…kidnapping children! God! I have become quite foul in these last few years, haven't I? Yes, I do believe I have, and I don't expect to see any bright light when I finally pass on, but I must see my boy before I do, I _must_. You understand don't you?"

The little girl inside the cage stared at him wide eyed for a moment before breaking out into a wide smile. He looked on in mild surprise for a moment but couldn't help but smile in return.

"God, you are quite the listener, I'm sure I have been prattling on for hours now…I need to get back to work."

"I want to be wind to." A soft voice spoke up; the man looked back towards the cage to see one of the boys had finally stepped away from the back corners. Though when he realized the man was looking at him he immediately blushed and began to retreat.

"And whys that?" He ventured, sitting up from his seat and walking towards the cage, though the boy only pushed himself further against the corner with the rest of the children.

"Benny says he wants to be wind cause it once blew the roof off his house," The girl who still stayed closest to the man, smile still on her face, "He says he wants to be that strong to!"

"Did not!" Benny argued, before realizing the man had caught sight of him again and quickly retreated back to the corner.

"He did!" the girl whispered to the man. He couldn't help but smile again.

"Well you can tell Benny that I think that is very admirab- er, nice of him to say."

The girl nodded before turning around and yelling out: "Hey Benny, the man said-!"

"I heard what he said Marie!" The boy shouted back, not moving from his corner.

"Benny's just mad cause he misses his mommy," Marie whispered to the man. The man looked on at the cowering children in the cage before sighing and walking back to his seat.

"I understand." He said simply before sitting back down.

For the next few minutes he worked at his seat, doing things too complicated and flashy for the young girl to understand, though she watched any way.

"Hey mister." The girl called out softly after a while, "How's this supposed to save Adam?"

The man flinched at that name, and how the girl had remembered it. He had barely said it once, in passing, and he couldn't even remember bringing up the fact that he was trying to rescue him.

"I…am not sure to be honest Marie." He said after a moment of silence, staring at the bright symbols, "I'm not even sure what's going to happen when it all starts…but it's my best chance…my only chance…"

"I understand." The young girl's voice replied. The man felt his heart skip a beat, he knew this girl was only a child; she was only mimicking what she heard him say a few minutes ago and didn't know its true meaning. But for one instance, one tiny space in time, the young girl spoke as if she was reading his very heart.

"God, you are quite the listener." The man spoke as he finally allowed a single tear to escape his eyes.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Well, that's another floor down." Red-X commented with a slight bored tone as we stared into a room so filled with holes that it looked like Swiss cheese.

"You do know how to use that think, right?" Bosko asked as he looked from the tattered rooms to Red-X's hand.

"Hey, if the roof hasn't caved on us yet then we're fine." The thief assured, making his way to the stairs. "Up we go, dead weights, only a few floors left if the scientist is right."

"It's Bosko," Bosko said for almost the seventh time that night, which clearly showed in the way he glared at Red-X's back, "And of course I'm right."

"Yes, yes, of course."

"Does he always have to get the last word in?" Bosko hissed to me as we approached the stairs to the next level.

"I don't know, you tell me." The thief spoke standing directly in front of Bosko as the crippled scientist turned back around, giving him quite a scare. Red-X chuckled before racing up the stairs, his cloak flowing behind him like a living shadow. Bosko mumbled darkly as he limped slowly up after him, using Robin's bow-staff as support.

"Now I know for whatever reason that you can't answer me so just consider this a rhetorical question," the scientist spoke to me as we slowly ascended the stairs, I nodded to show him I was listening, "Do all villains have to wear the dark, flowing cloaks and crap? I thought that went out of style years ago."

I looked quizzically at the back of the man's head. It was an odd question to be certain, out of all the ones I could imagine him trying to ask me.

"I know the look your probably giving me, and yes I know it is a weird question," Bosko replied without turning to face me, he simply continued to ascend the stairs, "To be honest I have always been interested in being a super hero myself, probably just in my blood, cousin of mine is a big time hero, ever heard of a guy named Rorschach?

I shook my head. A name _that _strange I would definitely remember if I had heard it before.

"Never even met the guy myself, and like most people, only know him as the man in the coat and freaky mask thing. Anyways, point being, I find it very humorous for a man of my standing and beliefs to be depending on villains such as yourselves."

"Bore us with your life story when my time _isn't_ so precious." Red-X called down from the entrance of the next floor, "Last time I checked the only thing keeping you alive is your knowledge of where this scientist might be, and so far, all I am seeing are empty rooms."

"It's best we make sure not to leave anything unchecked before we reach the room in question," Bosko countered, glaring up at Red-X, "I know the mind of this guy better than anyone, he wouldn't box himself in like this unless he had a way out."

"Yeah, well-." Red-X began though a sudden violent force shook the very building, almost forcing us to the ground. Down below, I heard the distant noise of crumbling construction.

"Sounds like Bradley is still making progress as well." Bosko muttered darkly. Red-X peeked into the room through the doorway.

"Gotta watch our steps now, looks like the roof downstairs caved-in in a few places, there are holes everywhere."

"'The roof hasn't caved in on us yet' eh?" Bosko mocked, smirking up at Red-X.

"Hey, hasn't caved in _on_ us just _around_ us, pretty big difference believe it or not." And with that the thief disappeared through the doorway.

"Can't believe I'm finding any humor at all in this, must be going crazier than I think." Bosko muttered to himself, rubbing his head before limping the rest of the way up the stairs and through the doorway, with myself following close, but not too close, behind; he did still smell after all.

The three of us walked through the darkened halls, being careful to avoid the gaping holes in the floor. After some lengthy prodding Bosko finally managed to convince Red-X that putting more holes in this room would not be such a good idea. Though at each doorway we looked into, not a soul was found, just empty desks and lab tables.

"Ok, I can understand not finding one particular scientist," Red-X commented after we looked into yet another empty room, "But how is it that we are finding absolutely no one in any of these rooms?"

"Well soon after our man disappeared Bradley had almost all of the scientists locked up at the sub level below this building. I'd imagine they are still down there unless they tried to leave through a door and ended up mashed up inside a wall or something."

"Cheery thought." Red-X mused as he stepped into the empty room. He ran a hand along the desk, shuffling lazily through the papers scattered on it. "So, while we're here, mind if I ask what a bunch of scientists and the military are doing in this shabby little warehouse in the first place? My…employer seems very interested but refuses to give me any details."

I to found myself curious about why Blackfire had us running around this almost life threatening building. Yet when I turned to look at Bosko all I could see was a face of immense shock.

"I…can't remember…" the shaggy scientist mumbled, staring at nothing in particular as he ran a hand through his thinning hair, "Damn him! I spent nearly ten years of my life working here on something I can't even remember working on! Damn it!"

I watched the man struggle with his own memories and couldn't help but pity him. Though in the back of mine I wondered how long Red-X and I had before our own memories started to disappear.

"Well, no sense in standing around here then." The master thief said simply, stepping past Bosko and I and into the hallway, "Onto the next-."

However, before he could finish his sentence another terrible rumble shook through the warehouse. This one managed to tremble with enough force to send Bosko and I to the ground, not long after we heard the sounds of crumbling walls once again echo their force through the air. Only this time, a scream mixed in with the noise of the crashing stone and steel. A cold wave washed through me as it invaded my head.

_Red-X._

"Damn it all! The floor has completely caved in out there!" Bosko exclaimed, trying to use his bow-staff to stand back up. He looked over at me, sweat pouring over his face, "We need to get out of this room, it isn't safe in here!"

I quickly nodded in understanding. Though no sooner did I stand up then a sudden loud noise tore into the room. It was the sound of creaking and collapsing metal. Bosko and I stood there, completely still, waiting for the noise to pass. My heart beat pounded almost too fast for me to keep track of. Finally the noise stopped, only to be followed by a low rumble.

"I have…a bad feeling about this…" Bosko whispered just loud enough for me to hear. An instant later, my entire world came crashing down.

With the force that sounded like some violent tornado the entire room seemed to fall from its foundations in a dead drop. Bosko and I were once again thrown into the air, this time with that weightless feeling one gets from going down those really fast roller coasters. A heavy impact hit the side of the room as we fell, sending us both into a wall, smashing the table as we fell on top of it. I heard Bosko cry out in severe pain as I felt the wind leave my lungs.

It was impossible to get my bearings again. We fell through a shattered mess of furniture and horrible noises. I knew if I didn't act fast we were both going to die, and not in the quick, painless way either.

Another impact hit the crumbling room, taking away the wall Bosko and I had just been rammed into and sent us rolling across the floor. I watched in horror as the opposite wall (the one we were rolling rapidly towards) was instantly taken out by another thunderous force. Bosko was first to go sailing out of the room through the newly exposed hole, and I quickly followed.

It was a split second of time. Bosko's limp body threatened smash into some sturdy looking railings and other deadly looking supports. With every bit of strength I had left in my beaten body I reached out a hand and managed to grab the scientist's wrist.  
A sharp pain suddenly resounded through my entire body. Reminding me all too late the bullet wound I had taken in my shoulder. Doing my best to ignore the creeping blackness that was now starting to fill my vision I quickly used my free hand to grasp the cape that billowed around us. We were less than seconds away from becoming a bloody mess when I pulled the dark cloak around us. Yet even as we disappeared to wherever we were being taken to a horrible blunt object rammed into my forehead. One of the supports I was too late to disappear from. Even before the coldness of teleportation touched my skin I was pulled down a different kind of blackness, the loud, thunderous noises slowly fading away until they were only a buzz ringing in my head.

XxXxXxXxXxX

"Marie why are you bein' so nice to him?" Benny asked, they were the only two children who were still awake. The others lay curled up in the darker corners of the cage, the ones furthest away from the man at the desk. "He's just a big bully!"

Marie didn't seem to have heard the young boy. She remained where she was, standing against the bars of the cage, watching as the man on the desk slept, a faraway look in her blue eyes. After a few seconds of silence Benny let out an angry huff at being ignored and sat himself down on the cold cage floor folding his arms, an angry look on his face.

"Hey Benny, you awake?" Marie asked after a while, still not facing away.

"…Yeah." Benny said after a moment, his face still in a pout.

"Did your momma ever tell you the story about the Fox and the Rabbit?" Marie asked softly.

"No…" Benny said with a sniff, thinking about his momma left a sick empty feeling in his stomach.

"Do you wanna hear it?"

Benny thought briefly on this. He had not been able to sleep very well the last few nights. His momma usually read to him every night before he went to bed, her soft voice always putting him to sleep before she could finish the story.

"Does it have a happy ending?" He asked softly, hugging his knees to his chest.

"Mhm." Marie said with a nod of her head. She then turned around and walked over to Benny, sitting cross legged in front of him.

"...Kay." Benny said, staring at the ground.

"Once upon a time there was a momma fox and a bunch of baby foxes. They were all a big happy family for a long long time. The momma fox would hunt rabbits and squirrels for her baby foxes and her baby foxes would play and eat and make their momma happy. But then, one winter, a terrible storm came, and the momma fox couldn't feed her babies, so all of the momma fox's babies passed away…"

"You mean they died!" Benny asked in a frightened whisper, his eyes wide. Marie simply nodded before continuing.

"…and the momma fox was very sad, for weeks she wouldn't eat or drink or anything. The other foxes tried to make her better, they tried making her happy with their own fox babies, but the momma fox only wanted her own baby foxes back. A long time later, while the momma fox was walking through the forest, she found a small baby bunny lying on the ground. The momma fox had not eaten in days, so she was very hungry. She walked up to the baby bunny and was about to eat it when the baby bunny looked up at her. The momma fox stopped trying to eat the baby bunny, cause she saw that it had the exact same looking eyes that her baby foxes once had. And, instead of running away, the baby bunny walked over to the momma fox and hugged her cause she had the same eyes as the baby bunny's momma who also passed away during the same bad storm. The momma fox hugged the baby bunny as well, feeling happy for the first time since she had her baby foxes."

"…Is that it? That's the end?" Benny asked after a moment of silence.

"Yup. The End." Marie said, standing back up and walking back over to her usual spot by the bars.

"Wasn't that good…" Benny whispered mostly to himself as he curled up on the floor of the cell. He soon fell into a deep sleep.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Red-X awoke from his unconscious state with a heavy moan. He couldn't remember the last time his body felt so bad since his last fight with the Teen Titans, and that had been months ago. The master thief sat up, groaning softly as his aching body protested the action. Directly in front of him was an almost blank white wall with what looked like a painting of a boat resting on the water, and floating gently beside that painting was an all too familiar looking black orb.

"Failed your mission I take it?" Blackfire's mocking voice echoed in the room.

Red-X could sense that that red lens was staring at something past him so the thief turned to see that the other half of the room had been thrown into utter chaos. The ceiling had completely collapsed, the floor was littered with debris that piled up through the gaping ceiling, and bodies, of scientists, soldiers, and what looked like the receptionist lay lifeless amongst all the carnage.

"A minor setback." Red-X commented, forcing his strained body to its feet, "Nothing a few well placed detonations won't fix."

"You're joking right?" Blackfire asked as the robotic orb watched the thief walk over to the massive pile of rubble, rubbing his hands eagerly, "I thought you might have learned by now that blowing up things is not the best of ideas."

At that Red-X froze in place. "Nope." He replied, slowly turning his head around to face the floating robot, "Though I did learn that this place is quite dangerous."

"Really now? Learned that all on your own did you?"

"I mean more dangerous than you first implied." Red-X explained, folding his arms with a twinge of pain, "I would also like to add that I'm pretty convinced that this building is out to get me, am I crazy? Or is that not far from the truth?"

At that the hovering robotic orb fell silent. Red-X waited patiently, arms still folded and watched the android through his skull mask.

"To put things as simply as possible, this building is basically on the line between our dimension and another one, threatening to implode if too much of the _other_ dimension creeps its way into ours."

"Pardon?" Red-X asked, leaning in closer, "Maybe I _am_ going crazy, but did you just say that we are…in between dimensions?"

"I'm having Fixit trying to find out more information as we speak," Blackfire replied, exasperated more like, her tone clearly indicating she knew little more than he did, "But it's been very tiresome, wireless communication is dangerous as we don't know if the properties of this dimension have a way of traveling through electronic waves and entering ones head."

"Er…they can do that?" Red-X muttered, remembering clearly the little device Blackfire had him put in his ear.

"I've been to planets where its species had such capabilities, better safe than sorry."

"Right…" Red-X then started pacing around the room, standing still in one spot too long always make him antsy, "So if we can't leave this room, or contact anyone who may be outside this building then…what do we do?"

"We wait." Blackfire responded pointedly.

"Wait!" Red-X exclaimed he then looked around the room, quickly spotting the doors that led outside, "What about those doors? If we get outside we can try to find another way up."

"Not an option." Blackfire insisted, the red lens surveying the doors as well, "I tried earlier and simply opening them sent me plummeting out of this rooms ceiling."

"Damnit!" the thief swore, hitting a large chunk of rubble with his fist, he then thought for a moment, "Could I perhaps-?"

"You cannot blow down the walls."

"Damnit!" Red-X cursed again, falling to the ground on his back, he then fell silent as he lay there.

The room was quite for a time then. Both villains accepting that all they could do was wait for their comrades to try and find a way to finish the mission. After awhile Red-X let out a heaving sigh. He held out a hand in the air above face, staring at the red x shape on his gloved palm.

"I almost wish the Titans were here." He commented, with no immediate reply from Blackfire, "They always manage to find some do-goody way to clean up someone's mess, and I could just take what I wanted and slip away while they do it."

"You really have a one track mind don't you?" Blackfire's voice asked, disappointment clearly evident in it. Red-X chuckled.

"Stealing is what makes the world go round…well my world anyways."

"Idiot."

"And what makes _your_ world go round Ms. Ex Tamaranian Princess?" Red-X asked, looking over at the floating orb, "Power? Money?...Men?"

"I don't see how that is any of _your_ business." Blackfire shot, the robot turning pointedly away from him.

"Ooooh, touchy tonight I see, well how else do you plan to kill time? Sitting all quiet like in that cell of yours?"

"That's what I was trying to do until your annoying prattling interrupted me!"

"Oh right, of course, how completely terrible of me."

"…You'd better hope you don't live long enough to see me escape from here."

"Oh? What are you going to do, chide me to death?"

"…Do you even know what my kind is capable of?"

"Well if it's anything like what your sister is capable of then I can't say I'd be all that impressed."

"Hah! Do not even attempt to compare me to that little nobody. My sister is nothing but dirt underneath my boots."

"Uh huh. And that's why she's in a warm home surrounded by friends while you're rotting away in a cell?"

"She grows weak with such comfort while I only grow stronger! How dare you even suggest-!"

"Yeah, yeah evil villain speech, very frightening and all that."

"…I hate you."

"That nice honey. So, I've been wondering something, why Wykkyd?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"I know what happened down there, I know him, the Brotherhood of Whatever, and most of the villains worthy of note were frozen down there, but why did you unfreeze him out of all the others? I will admit his cape thing is useful but he's just a kid with much less experience with the kinds of things you're trying to have us pull off than most of the others that are also frozen."

"Well, not that it's any of your business." Blackfire spoke, the red lens reflecting Red-X fully in its scope, "But Kyd Wykkyd is more than just a boy with a fancy cape."

"And just what's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Just know that I did my research before choosing who would take part in my escape, and who knows, live long enough and you might even see it yourself."

"Right…" The thief muttered, already starting to lose interest in the conversation he moved back to lean against the mass of rubble. Though he found himself distracted with the bodies that littered the ground and it wasn't long before he found himself rifling through their pockets.

"You have got to be kidding me…" Blackfire breathed when the orb took notice of the thief. Red-X busy opening a scientist's wallet hardly paid her any mind.

"So this is how the great and terrible master thief makes his living I take it? Rifling the pockets of the dead."

"Oh please." Red-X scoffed, still digging through the wallet. "When you're _this_ good, you don't need to steal money."

"Well from what I know of Earth customs they normally keep their money in those small leather pouches, don't they?"

"Yep." The thief replied, shaking out the contents of the wallet and watched as some bills, coins, and several cards fell out from it, "But you'd be surprised what other little goodies you can find in these things, notes of passwords, photos of family, phone numbers, that sort of thing. But sometimes, if you're really lucky, you can find what you least expect…"

Red-X then reached for something on the ground and picked it up.

"Aha!"

"What? What did you find?" Blackfire asked, the robot edging in closer to the thief's hunched over back.

"Condoms!" Red-X cried out triumphantly, showing the robot his small square prizes.

"Con-…what's?" Blackfire asked quizzically, the robot edging in closer to the things clasped between the thief's fingers.

"Oh? You mean you don't know?"

"Don't know what?"

"Oh I see…" A wide smile then grew beneath the master thief's mask, "Well Blackfire, let me do you a great service and tell you all about these things we call condoms…"

Red-X would be damned if he let a simple collapsing building ruin his fun.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Marie lay against the bars now as quite darkness slowly began to enclose her eyes. All of the other children had fallen asleep, Benny still passed out on the cell floor. The scientist man, head face first on his desk, had fallen asleep hours ago. The machine that took up most of the giant room hummed soothingly, it reminded Marie of her fish tank back in her room. Thinking of it now calmed her tense body more; it wouldn't be long now until she fell into a deep, calming, sleep…

But just as Maries eyes began to close something materialized out of thin air. It flew through the air in the corner of the girl's eyes and hit a series of filing cabinets with a silence shredding crash. At once all of the children awoke with cries and tears.

"What the-!" the man at the desk cried out, jumping straight up from his seat. Marie watched, her eyes wide open now, as he grabbed something small and metal from a bottom shelf. The young girl instantly recognized it as one of those guns her daddy always carried around.

"Who's there!" the man demanded, walking slowly towards the destroyed filing cabinets, his gun pointed straight out. Marie strained to see, but large tables obstructed her view.

"Wh-what's going on?" Benny asked, sucking his thumb fearfully. Marie did not answer, her wide eyes focused on what was happening in front of her. The man had now reached almost exactly where the impact had occurred.

"I said whose-!" the man cried, but then the girl heard him let out a low gasp, his gun lowered a bit, "My god! Bosko! Is that you?"

"Y-you…" Marie heard a low voice respond, it sounded weak, in pain, "You…BASTARD!"

Marie let out a low squeak of surprise at the outcry and watched in horror as a shadowy figure lunged at the man. There was a short struggle and then the man shoved the figure off him, his attacker falling against a table, he immediately gripped it, struggling to stay on his two feet.

"I don't know how the _hell_ you made me forget," the rather short figure spat as he held on to the table, "But now I remember it all, just as clearly as how I can see your ugly mug right now."

"Bosko…" the man breathed, he then gripped his forehead and let out an angry moan, "This isn't right, you shouldn't be here…you should be…"

"Should be what! _Dead!_" the one called Bosko shot, gripping the table as if he was prepared to launch from it.

"What? Dead?" the man breathed, white horror coloring his face, "What in the world are you talking about Bosko?"

"Dead!" the short man yelled as if that was all that needed to be said, "Dead you bastard! Dead just like Stanley and Collins, dead like our colleagues, dead like all these children's parents!"

"Marie, what is he talking about?" Benny asked, tears in his eyes as they watched one man yell and the other man turn white, "What is he talking about?"

"This…this has all gone so wrong…" the man spoke, his entire body shaking, "I just wanted…to keep them away…I just wanted my son…."

"Yeah? Well I just wanted a simple life of research and discovery." Bosko breathed, his voice dripped of anger and hate, "And what did I get? A bullet shot to the leg, two friends dead, and some crazy ass general blowing down the world around me. And guess who I have to thank? _MY FUCKING BEST FRIEND_!"

Without warning the small man lunged at the man. In a panic the man fired his gun. The shot rang out through the cries of the frightened children in that room. The small man stood there for a moment, frozen in time, before falling wordlessly to the ground and out of the tear stricken eyes of little Marie.

"Oh god!" The man cried, collapsing to the ground himself, "God…no…Bosko….god…what have I done…I didn't want this for you…god…no…Bosko…I'm so…I'm so sorry…"

Young Marie stood struck to her core as she listened to the man cry and sob over his dead friend. Benny lay on the ground beside her, crying frightened, confused tears, most of the other children doing the same.

Only Marie saw it. Saw the second dark figure rise from the ground. Cloaked in shadow, eyes red as blood, it made its way slowly to where the man had collapsed. In a panic Marie screamed with all her might.

"Mister Adam's dad! Look out!"

Yet whether the man had heard her or not did not matter. As soon as the second figure realized it was noticed it vanished, as quick as that. A second later the scientist man was falling, screaming from the ceiling, the dark creature gripping him by the collar, Marie watched wide eyed as they fell, then, right before they hit the ground, they vanished. Marie stared at where they had slipped out of thin air in her amazement she was unprepared for the sudden force that rammed into the bars of the cage. The brute force sent her off her feet and unto the ground, her head hitting the steel floor hard, instantly pulling her into cold, sharp darkness.

XxXxXxXxX

"Wh-what do you want from me!" the scientist cried out as I pinned him against the cage. I knew I had almost over done it with all the teleporting but I did not care. All I could see was Bosko, lying face first in a pool of his own blood, bullet in his skull. I gripped the collar tighter as I picked up and slammed the scientist into the cage again. I heart small voices cry out in fright, but I paid them no mind.

"Please stop!" the man begged, sweat and tears streaming down his face. I only pushed him further against the cage, wanting nothing more than to mash his body between the small spaces between the bars.

"Kyd Wykkyd, that's quite enough I think." A stoic voice spoke over the cries of the scientist and children. Surprised, I looked over my shoulder to see a tall, pale scientist standing only a few feet away.

"C-Castro?" the scientist gripped in my hands mumbled.

"Good to see you again, William." The scientist deemed Castro returned with a casual nod before focusing his unblinking gaze back at me, "Kyd Wykkyd, if you would be so kind to release him, I believe you've made your point."

Just then, I realized who I was and where I was. Instantly the blinding anger left me, the dark cloud passing. I released the scientist who fell to the ground in a shameless heap. I stood there dumbfounded, before finally deciding the best thing to do was help the man up.

"I…ah…thank you…" William muttered, taking my extended hand as I helped him up. He then looked from me to Castro. The anger gone I could now easily see how beat up and worn out the man looked not including the scarring I had recently gave him. Dark bags hung from his eyes, his forehead had endless wrinkles, and a permanent frown seemed etched on his mouth and in his eyes. He looked like some un-dead creature struggling to live. Castro chuckled just then.

"How amusingly accurate." He said as if out of nowhere. I looked over at him, half confused, half amazed. He didn't just…

"Oh, but I did." Castro said with a smile and a wink. It looked odd, as if his face was not used to expressing emotion. Which, through all my sudden shock and awe, I guessed wasn't far from the truth.

"Professor Castro." William spoke up, his eyes fixed on the ground, "I…"

"…have made a complete mess of things is how I hope you planned to finish that sentence. Because you certainly have." Castro commented, looking over at Bosko lying dead on the ground and the cowering children in the cage.

"I…"

"You could have at least told _me_," Castro continued, looking down at his fellow scientist, "I would have told you what this was a lost cause from the beginning."

"But…but it's not a lost cause!" William argued with a sudden sense of determination. He then walked over to a machine that shocked me that I could have possibly over looked it.

For one it was massive. Reaching from the top of the expansive room to the very bottom, it resembled a circular gate with tubes intermingling around it. Stairs led up to its giant opening, which only led into the wall it was built into. William walked up to a number of consoles that had their wires linked up with the massive device.

"It's only minutes from being ready Castro! Only a few minutes until I can bring my son home again!"

Castro looked at the machine, his face expressionless.

"Was it worth the lives it cost?" Castro spoke evenly, looking at William. His fellow scientist looked at the ground, his face looking slightly whiter.

"Bosko said that to, what lives are you talking about? All I did was kidnap the children and lock myself in with the machine. I waited until it was near ready…though it took longer than expected to set up..."

"But what of what you have done to the properties of our dimension?" Castro pressed, though there was a note of doubt in his accusation and I to was beginning to see what was transpiring, "You allowed whatever your trying to open up to seep into this building, twisting its properties and killing unsuspecting innocents."

"I…what?" William responded, dumbfounded as he stared up at the machine, "I did not even think this thing was capable of doing that! Until just a few minutes ago I didn't even have it running!"

"You…" Castro began, though he quickly drifted off, I could only imagine he was doing whatever he had done to read my mind to the one named William, "…you blind fool. How else do you think you managed to avoid being caught for days?"

"I…thought I was merely lucky…" the scientist spoke with a meager shrug. Castro gave him a dead look.

"More like, doors that should lead to the next room led to the basement. Windows sent you tumbling through ventilation systems. You could take the stairs forever and never get anywhere. The list goes on my friend."

"Fascinating!" William suddenly breathed, wide eyed. Though he quickly lost his enthusiasm when his eyes locked with Castro's cold ones. "I mean…ah…how awful…"

"Yes. But what is most awful about this situation is that our dear general has decided to take very drastic measures to reach you now."

"Now…when you say drastic…"

"I mean suiting up in a battle mech and ordering his men to blast through walls with grenades drastic."

"Ah…I see…"

"That is good." Castro spoke evenly, his gaze focused on a door on the far side of the room, "For in less than two seconds you will be seeing those very same men come blasting through that door."

"Now…when you say two sec-."

In that moment a great blast tore its way through the door that all three villains were looking upon. Even before the dust cleared squads of men with guns and armor came storming out, forming lines around the hole, guns trained at the trio that stood directly across from them.

"Well, well, well, well, lookie what we have here." A jeering voice called as a massive mech marched its way through the hole. It stood a good twelve feet tall, decorated in heavy metals and black soot, it held a large Gatling gun in one hand, and the other was shaped into a sizeable looking blade. And seated in the center behind bars of metal was a heavy set man with a shaggy beard and a victorious smile, "The exterminator is here, and he finally found his little lab rat!"

"I really hope he doesn't mean me…" William mumbled, hiding slightly behind Castro.

"Hey there William, I finally remember you, you sonofabitch! No more mind games of yours now! And is that tall fellow Castro? Always knew you were too sly for your own good, gone and slithered from your little cage eh?"

"Good to see you to General." Castro greeted with a polite nod.

"Sir, the children." One solider near the mech spoke up, his eyes on the cage in the corner of the room.

"Aha! So there's where you've been hiding 'em." The General exclaimed, his wide eyes fixed on us, "You know a good number of my men died to find their sons and daughters, Jerry's daughter is locked up to, isn't she Jerry?"

"…yes sir." The soldier who had spoken up replied, his eyes still on the cage.

"Still alive and all in one piece I hope?" the General asked, his mech taking a step closer in their direction.

"Yes…" William began, though Castro through a halting arm out to him and took a step forward.

"The children are still alive." The scientist replied, "And still under _our_ custody. So I suggest this, you let us leave here peacefully, and we will hand over the children."

The room grew quite then. A few seconds passed before the solider deemed Jerry started to speak.

"The hell we-!"

But he was caught off by a low chuckle emitting from the General. The small laugh soon erupted into a fit of hysterical laughter as the large man guffawed in his mech suit.

"You make me laugh Castro! Hear it! After all the hell you and William put me through and I can still laugh like this? You're too much I tell you! Too damn much!"

The General laughed like this for a few more seconds before dying down to a wide smile. Looking straight at Castro.

"Now here's how this will _really_ go. We are going to take the children, then gun you all down for betraying the American government. How's that sound?"

"I think I'm going to be sick…" William mumbled behind us.

"Kyd Wykkyd." Castro whispered just loud enough for me to hear. I took an immediate step towards him, to show that I was listening. "Your teleportation works properly in here, correct?"

I quickly nodded.

"Good, William?"

"Y-yes?" William muttered, still hiding behind Castro.

"How long until that thing is ready to go?

"J-just a minute or so, but I would need to be ready to put in the activation sequence as soon as it's primed, otherwise it will just reset…"

"Then here's the plan." Castro said immediately, "Kyd Wykkyd, I want you to teleport us above the general and drop me on top of him, from there take out as many of his guards as possible. Meanwhile William head for cover and call Kyd Wykkyd when the thing is ready. Kyd Wykkyd, when you hear the call head over to him immediately and ensure that he gets the thing working and open…"

"What then?" William asked when Castro didn't continue.

"Well, if we _actually_ manage to live that long you guys will just have to improvise, William, I trust you know what to do when that thing is open."

"I…yes I do." The scientist said with determination.

"Good, good, alright then…on my signal."

"If your little huddle group is over I believe its time a clear out some vermin and get outta this shit-hole." the General called, smile on his face as he held up his Gatling gun, his soldiers taking point as well.

"I think I'll go find a nice sturdy table to hide behind now…" William whispered. Though I paid him no mind. Now was the time of life or dead. Kill or be killed. I felt the blood rush through my veins, the adrenaline pumping through my system. Castro and I faced the General and his small army. Time stood still, and, for the second time since being unfrozen, I felt truly alive.

"Now." Castro spoke.

"Fire!" the General hollered.

I reached for my cape and time exploded back to life with the General's manic laughter and thunderous gun fire. In a flash I swept Castro and I beneath my cape and for a flash of time all sound fell silent. There were only us and the cold darkness. A flash of time later the world opened up and we were hovering above the General's giant mech.

"Don't forget the plan." Castro said simply before falling through the sky and landing on top of a surprised General. I didn't stay and watch what proceeded next, already I felt the call of my cape and I once again fell into darkness, reappearing in the midst of the confused soldiers.

There is a part of my life that I do not enjoy thinking about. A part stained by true bloodshed and violence. It was a short life, like most of them are, but it was all I knew at the time, being so young. A killer in the dark, an assassin for hire. I left that life when the H.I.V.E let me into their home, but sometimes it still came to haunt me. In my dreams…and in my violence. It was a life stained by true bloodshed and death. A stain that could never truly be cleaned away. When fighting against death, one must learn to kill.

So when I marked my first target. In the midst of confused soldiers, I picked the one with the knife strapped to his chest. I appeared before him, I suspect it seemed like his own shadow reached out to attack him, and grabbed said knife, ramming my head full force into his before he knew what had grabbed him. Knife in hand I slipped back into darkness, letting the stunned man fall to the ground. I reappeared again, behind a man who had turned to see the one who had fallen so suddenly, and hit him on the back of the head with the hilt of the combat knife. He fell and I vanished again. I entered the carnage again, the soldiers still trying to get their bearings and rammed an elbow into another soldier's gut. I marked the soldier's who were beginning to take notice of Castro still clinging to their General's mech. Into the darkness I jumped again, landing on a soldier's back and slamming his head into the ground. His companion turned and tried to fire, but I had already vanished, reappearing an instant later at his side, using the full force of the travel to send him to the ground, dagger at my belt I grabbed the assault rifle from his stunned hands and quickly beat him over the head with it. No sooner had I finished than bullets began whizzing past me, pulling the cape around me I disappeared again, and again, and again. Each time taking out a soldier as I reappeared.

The soldiers cried out in confusion. Shooting in every which direction, glancing hits at each other, all to get at me. Faster and faster I vanished and reappeared until all but a hand full of soldier's remained. It was then that I heard William's call. Slightly frustrated that my fun was being stopped I halted where I had appeared and ran headlong into the back of yet another unsuspecting solider. Throwing us both through my cape we reappeared before a table at which the man hit full force with his gut. The soldier let out a groan which I quickly silenced by slamming his head onto the table.

The man slumped to the ground and I stood there. Breathing heavy and sweating for the first time in perhaps…ever. I looked over to see William standing at his consoles, wide-eyed and slack jawed.

"You…you fought like some sort of unstoppable demon…" the scientist breathed, looking me up and down now, "…guess that explains the creepy costume."

I gave William a hard look to which he quickly averted his eyes from.

"Right then, this thing will be ready any second now…I suppose I can just trust you to keep those soldiers off my back?"

I nodded my assent before turning to where said soldiers still stood. Only about four of them still remained, and they were mainly busy moving around either trying to find me or tending to their fallen brethren. Meanwhile, Castro seemed to have fallen from the General's mech and was busy dodging his deadly looking blade. The Gatling gun lay where it had been brutally torn off on the ground.

The gentle hum the machine had been emitting suddenly grew a lot louder. Green lights started glowing from the circular portal, the glow streaming through the pipes and through the buttons of the consoles.

"I can't believe it…it's working, it's working!" William cried, typing in numerous combinations on the keypads, almost faster than I could follow.

"Blast it you worthless maggots! Stop them! Stop them!" I heard the General cry, I turned to see Castro pinned against a wall, though the General was focused on us, rousing his remaining men who were quickly starting to see the picture.

"Just another second or two!" William shouted over the loud machine and the General's yelling, "Hold them off if you would!"

I watched as the four remaining soldiers approached us, guns held ready to fire. I reached beneath my cape and gripped the stolen combat knife. These soldiers won't be taken by too much surprise, they had seen enough of what my abilities can do to their friends. I took a calming breath to steady my nerves. To fight death, one must learn to kill.

I ran full force at the soldiers. They aimed at me, but didn't fire, waiting for me to teleport, waiting for the tell-tale signs for me to grab my cloak, to hunch over. That's what I wanted. In mid step I twirled my body around, like some dark dancer, my cape flowed around me with the force of my actions. The soldiers realized too late my intentions and fired into the air where I once was. I reappeared before one of them and with a swift move shoved my knife through his gut. The man let out a cry of pain but, in an unexpected move he reached out and gripped my cape.

"I have him, he's here!" the soldier cried out, holding me close. I watched as his comrades turned and, acting quickly, shoved a leg between my captors' feet and tripped him, making sure I hit the ground back first as I fell. But, instead of hitting solid ground, I fell through my cape. In the brief darkness I twisted the knife in the soldier's gut releasing a final cry from him and loosening his grip.

We reappeared above another soldier and fell upon his unsuspecting head with a sickening crack. Ignoring the pain now spreading through my back I rolled as soon as I hit the ground. Hearing the gun fire whip past me, I gripped my cape as I rolled and vanished once again. Back into action I rolled across the ground, my path now colliding with the ankles of the third solider, falling down with a cry of surprise. I stopped rolling, preparing to leap back through my cape when a gunshot tore through my leg. With a silent gasp I fell to the ground only to have another shot glance my shoulder, tearing the skin. I lay there, dazed and in pain, feeling warm wetness seep through my costume.

"Finally fucking got you." The soldier who had fired swore, stepping up towards me, gun pointed at my head. Behind him his fallen companion was starting to get up. I watched as he walked towards me, finger on the trigger. I watched as his careless foot treaded on top of my cape that rested beneath me.

Without warning the man's entire leg vanished beneath the ground, and as he fell I struck out with the knife still clenched in my hand. The blow struck the man straight through the forehead. Blood shot out, splattering my face and costume. In surprise I rolled away from the carnage, forcing the trapped leg to separate from the body. The leg went flying out of some random wall while the nub that remained bled fiercely. The remaining soldier seemed to have lost whatever fighting spirit he had left and fell to the ground, his face chalk white as he stared wordlessly at his mauled comrade. I averted my eyes from the scene, finding it impossible to move now with my injured leg now numb I looked over to where Castro was pinned to see he had been left alone. The General was now making his way towards the still glowing and humming machine.

"Gotta do _everything_ around here don't I!" The General exclaimed the blade out and ready to cleave the entire thing in two. I looked over to the man and his machine. Surprisingly, I did not see William cower away from the giant mech steadily making its way towards him. Instead, the man stood his ground in front of the flashing consoles, his finger resting on a particular red button.

"It's over Bradley, all of your men are dead and there's nothing left to stop me from pushing this button and finally seeing my son!"

"You press that button and you're a dead rat, you hear me William!" the General shouted, the mech advancing, blade raised.

"No! You don't scare me anymore Bradley!" William returned, he then brought out a pistol from his coat aiming it dead center at the man in the mech suit. Bradley froze.

"Son…" The general spoke, hands raised in surrender, "think about what you're doing…"

"I've done that all my life Bradley." William spoke calmly, gun still aimed at the general, "Think but not act, and look where it's gotten me. So I had a new thought, what if I did the opposite? I did so when I enlisted for your team, I did so when I suggested making a teleportation device, and I did so when I deceived you all and kidnapped the children. And now…I am going to do so again."

With that William pressed his finger down on the button. Immediately electricity surged out from the consoles and through the wires that connected to the machine. With a loud wail the portal device exploded to life. Where it had once opened simply to the wall, vibrant greens and yellows began swirling inside it.

"Yes! Yes! Take me to my boy! Take me to Adam!" William cried out in delight, leaping over the consoles and racing towards the giant swirling machine.

"Nooooo!" Bradley roared, firing up his mech he began the pursuit, only to be blocked from his path my Castro leaping in front of him.

"Out of my way damnit!" The general shouted, the giant blade swinging through the air, missing the scientist by mere inches.

I once again tried to stand but my injured leg refused. Pain coursed through my body at the attempt and I fell back down to the ground. Looking around, I caught sight of Robin's bow-staff, lying still beside Bosko's corpse. Yet just as I made to go towards it a movement in the corner of my eye caught my attention. I turned towards it to see the remaining solider standing over me, gun pointing at my head. Without a word the man pulled the trigger, but only a faint click answered him. The man stared at the gun in horror.

"Damnit!" He cried, continuously clicking the trigger at me. Giving him a stern look I pulled my cloak over me and reappeared myself by the fallen staff. Doing my best not to look at the bleeding body nearby I gripped the staff and using both it and a table I managed to bring myself to one foot. However, nearly all the adrenaline had worn off by now and I could now feel the pain in my shoulder from Sherman's bullet wound and it was all I could do to remain standing beside that table.

I looked across the room to see the soldier still trying to fire his gun, though a sudden cry broke his and my attention.

"Daddy!" a shrill voice from the cage called.

"Benny!" the soldier exclaimed, I watched as he ran over to the cage, "Benny my god!"

I turned my attention from the cage to Castro and Bradley. The general cursing and swinging while the scientist seemed to dodge the blade with little effort. From there I looked to the giant machine, William now stood before the mass of swirling greens and yellows still calling out to it.

"Take me to my son! Take me to Adam!"

I was about to turn my attention away, believing William to have gone insane, when he saw the thing spring to life, but just as I did a streak of red appeared, swirling through the greens and yellows. I watched, amazed, as more reds appeared, as if the previous glowing colors were parting to let the other colors take over. In mere seconds all traces of yellows and greens vanished, what now rested in the portal was a scene of what I would imagine was in some of those science fiction movies Gizmo always tried to make us watch.

The sky was all reds, blacks, and whites. Large chunks of rock floated in mid air as if gravity had all vanished from the land. William let out a cry of joy.

"Yes, yes! It worked! It's open!"

"William, step away from it!" Castro called; I looked over to see he had taken his eyes of the battle for a moment, focused on William. I watched in horror as the general took this opportunity to strike. With a cry of triumph, the mech swung its bladed arm, Castro immediately realized the danger and tried to leap away, the blade missed cleaving him in two, but still caught him on the shoulder, instantly slicing arm from body. I averted my eyes as Castro's body hit the ground, looking over to see William still standing before the portal, oblivious to what was transpiring around him.

"Adam!" William called into the portal, shouting in joy, "My son, I am here, you do not have to do this alone anymore!"

And then I watched as William leapt through the portal and into the strange dimension, instantly disappearing from sight.

"No, damn you, no!" Bradley cried, the damaged mech racing towards the portal, "You aren't getting away from me you little rat!"

I tried moving from the tables. There was no more sense in sticking around here; I would only end up dead. But moving proved a lot more difficult than standing; I only made it a few feet from the tables when a great and terrible cry roared through the portal.

"_**Let's give them an entrance they won't soon forget!"**_

The voice itself nearly shook me off my feet. Bradley, now situated directly in front of the portal, now took a step back.

"What in the name of…"

Just then a small figure flew through the portal. I watched as it flew straight over the mech and went straight for me. I did not have the time nor the ability to move out of the way and I was thrown off my feet when the body hit me. As I fell, I saw flames suddenly erupt from the portal, instantly consuming the mech and its rider. The fire quickly expanded through the rest of the room, barely missing me and the one who had rammed me as we fell back into my cape and into the cold darkness.

XxXxXxXxX

An instant later we were thrown back out, skidding across grass and dirt until the momentum finally left. When it did I simply laid there, body pulsating with pain, warm morning sun on my face. After a few minutes I heard movement from the person that had fallen through the portal and hit me. Slowly, See-More sat up beside me, lens damaged and small smile playing on his face.

"Well, hey there Wykkyd, long time no see."

I couldn't help but smile slightly in return, nodding in agreement, before closing my eyes once again. Again silence stretched on for a few minutes before See-More spoke up again.

"So um, where are we?"

"Your outside what remains of an American governmental building." Blackfire's voice answered. I opened my eyes to see the black floating android and Red-X standing over us. The master thief chuckled.

"Damn Wykkyd, those guys sure did a number on you didn't they?"

I merely huffed in reply, shutting my eyes again.

"Red-X is right, you're bleeding, did you get shot?" Blackfire asked. I shrugged in reply, not bothering to open my eyes. It was quiet for another moment before Red-X broke the silence.

"So, who are you kid, from that get up I can assume you aren't a soldier or a scientist."

"No way!" See-More exclaimed, "I'm a member of the H.I.V.E Five! Just like Kyd Wykkyd! I was trapped in this weird dimension place until just like a few seconds ago. Honestly I don't even know how I got here…did you bust me out or something Wykkyd?"

I shook my head, already accepting that I couldn't explain to them what had transpired even if I wanted to.

"Well this is getting nowhere fast." Red-X commented with a bored sigh.

"Wykkyd." Blackfire spoke, causing me to open my eyes and see that the android was floating directly over me. "Did you find Fixit in there?"

I stared at the orb for a long second before seeing myself shake my head in its round red lens. I heard Blackfire sigh through the droid.

"Then he's…"

"Actually, Kyd Wykkyd did find Fixit." A familiar, calm voice spoke up, I leaned up, amazed to see Castro walking towards us. One arm missing, the other cradling a small girl. We all watched as he changed before our eyes as he walked. The tattered lab coat and handsome face dissolved away to reveal a figure with a long black robe that hid away most of his body, and a blank, bluish face with red eyes and black lines tracing down. He smiled at my shocked expression.

"Surely Blackfire told you of my undercover disguise?"

"I did." The droid assured, I could hear the chiding tongue that spoke behind it, "Apparently he did not pay much attention."

At that I averted my eyes. I had completely forgotten about Fixit's disguise.

"Aw you guys can't blame Wykkyd. He's always day dreaming, even in class back at H.I.V.E academy! Our teachers used to get so mad cause he was never paying attention-."

At this point I had no choice but to throw See-More a silencing glare. Though the damage had already been done.

"Did he now?" Red-X asked with a chuckle, "Good to know creepy quiet boy still has his flaws."

"Back to more pressing matters." Fixit cut in, much to my relief. He adjusted the child in his arm. "The device is completely destroyed, along with most of the building as you both have seen. I have searched what was left of the warehouse and the only survivors are us and the one I am currently carrying. I hope, Blackfire, that this isn't too much of a setback for you."

"No, no." the droid replied with a sigh, "While the device would have saved us all a lot of time, what is important is that we have Fixit and can leave this place without anyone being the wiser. And you…See-More was it? If what you say is true, and you were a former teammate of Wykkyd's I'll expect that you will join in his mission seeing as the others were friends of yours as well."

"Wait…what mission?" See-More asked, standing up now he looked from the floating robot to me, "Wykkyd…what is she talking about…and where are Mammoth, Gizmo, and the others?"

I felt my throat tighten when he said that and suddenly no longer had the will to look up from the ground.

"I'm sorry, but we do not have time for this right now." Fixit spoke softly, "Kyd Wykkyd is losing a lot of blood and we are doing ourselves no favors by standing out in the open like this."

"Right." Blackfire agreed, "Red-X, See-More help Wykkyd and let's go, I will explain the next phase of the plan when we get back to the headquarters."

I felt my body tremble when See-More and Red-X lifted me. I never felt more useless than when they had to basically drag me back, my entire body feeling as numb as the leg that got shot. Though it wasn't long before a soothing blackness began to settle over my eyes as they dragged me. I welcomed it, longing for anything to ease the pain that still tore through my numerous bullet wounds.

At this rate, I might have been better off frozen in my cell; at least in there I would never get shot… and never be embarrassed by my horrible school habits…

Stupid friends.

XxXxXxXxX

To Be Continued…


	8. Hostage

The Wicked One

Chapter 8: Hostage

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Fixit refused to try and cooperate by allowing me to take the bullets out myself. Reading my thoughts he knew I had the capabilities, but still disagreed, suggesting that my work was amateurish at best and could cause more harm than good if I tried to pull it out by force. At the time I wasn't really in the mood to listen to him, strapped down on a table, watching him approach me with an assortment of sharp knives and needles. I screamed my thoughts at him, trying to persuade him to stop, though he either had the ability to shut me out or was simply ignoring me. The last thing I felt was the sharp prick of a needle piercing my neck beneath the collar.

Fixit said the process took several hours though it felt like I woke up mere seconds later. My eyes opened to pitch blackness and immediately I knew I was back in my own bedroom. My arm and leg still felt sore as I adjusted myself in bed, though it was significantly less painful than before I was put under the needle. I remained there for a good long while without being disturbed. It was a peculiar thing, finding myself alone and in complete darkness. In a way it reminded me of my time being frozen solid…

It seemed such a cruel fate to place on someone, whether they were evil or not, to be frozen then left to rot. How long can one stay frozen? Certainly not forever. I remember how weak I felt when I was unfrozen, and that was only after a few months. What were the consequences of being unfrozen after several more months…or years…?

I was never one for revenge. No bitter hate ever drove me or my emotions. But if I ever see the Titans again…or Jinx… it will not be on good terms. Though I hope I don't see them any time soon, especially not in this condition, I would rather not be made into a villain popsicle again.

How long will it take me to recover from this? Certainly Blackfire won't need to wait until I'm _completely_ healed. That weakness I felt…and still feel…from being unfrozen haunts me worse than anything I experienced. The longer I wait to unfreeze my friends…the weaker they will be when they are finally free…maybe even too weak to live…

I shook my head free of those thoughts. They put a sinking feeling in my stomach and I had enough to worry about. Positives. Think of the positives…not exactly my strong point but better than sitting here worrying about things I can't do anything about at the moment.

Ok then…positives…positives…what were the positives? Well, I'm not dead, that's pretty positive I'd bet…and…uh…there was at least one survivor from the base…so not complete warehouse inhabitant genocide then…and…that's it? No, I'm sure there was something else…something-.

A sudden knock at my door broke me from my thinking. Instinctively I tried to sit up, but my body was quick to respond and I quickly fell back down on the bed with a silent groan.

"Uh…Wykkyd?" See-More's tentative voice called from the other side of the door, "Can I come in?"

For the next few seconds all was quiet. See-More waiting patiently behind the door while I patiently waited for the wires to cross. Finally I heard him let out a quick "Oh yeah!" of realization.

"Sorry about that, I'll just take the silence as a 'yes'." See-More said, slowly creaking open the door. I squinted at the light that poured from the hallway.

"Sorry!" See-More apologized, quickly closing the door behind him, "That light is probably bothering you…"

I then listened for the next few seconds as See-More stumbled around the pitch black room before he finally came to a stop.

"Ok, hold on, need to turn on my night vision." My fellow villain in arms spoke. I then heard the familiar twisting of dials before seeing his eye glow a dull green. The small pupil flitted around the room before resting on me.

"Man, first time in your room, guess I'm not surprised to see no chairs or anything in here."

I shrugged apologetically.

"No worries," See-More said quickly, I watched as the glowing eye fell closer towards the ground, "I've got no problems with sitting."

Silence once again crept into the room as we both sat there. I watched See-More's pupil drift around the room, occasionally glancing in my direction. I was about to attempt to get up again, figuring See-More must have come in here to bring me to the others, when I heard a subtle clearing of a throat.

"So…Blackfire told me what happened back there." The optical criminal began, I watched as his pupil rested on me, "Mammoth, Gizmo, and Billy and most of the other H.I.V.E students frozen alive. And with Brother Blood locked up in jail it's not like they would be free anytime soon. But then your freed and bam! In no time flat you save me from that weird dimension thing! Now we can team up, just like the old days, and save the rest of our partners in crime!"

I regarded the glowing eye with a vague expression. I wouldn't say I exactly saved him from anything; I wasn't even sure where See-More had disappeared to. Though it was true that things should be a lot easier now, See-More and I had always worked pretty well together, from robbing banks to trying to catch Kid Flash.

"Man, I wish I could have been there! I might have been able to stop them…or at least helped you guys escape."

I could only shake my head in disagreement. Nothing could have stopped Kid Flash. I didn't remember much from that final battle, but I did remember him…and Jinx.

"Yeah, I guess I wouldn't have made much a difference. But what happened down there anyways? Not even Blackfire knows why an entire army of super villains managed to get captured like that! Fixit and Red-X weren't there either apparently so I'm completely lost here man!"

I shrugged hopelessly. Even if I could tell him, it wasn't like I was able to.

"You know Kyd Wykkyd, it's cool and mysterious and all that you can't talk. But it makes it really annoying to try and talk to you."

At that I gave the glowing eye a harsh glare. I could almost see the smile in his eye.

"Hey, relax I was only joking!" The eye then rose back up into the air, "So, you able to stand? Blackfire wanted me to come get you so we can start…'planning', heh, she's almost as bad as Jinx, am I right?"

I shuddered at that name and wordlessly lifted one very sore leg from my bed. I cringed slightly as it touched the ground.

"Need some help?" See-More asked. I looked up and nearly jumped out of the bed when I realized how close the glowing eye had gotten. I quickly shook my head and forced another leg off the bed. With a large intake of breath I threw myself off the bed and into a standing position.

My body cried out in protest almost immediately and threatened to give out on me when a firm hand gripped my shoulder. I looked over it to see the glowing, smiling eye.

"C'mon, I'll let you lead the way."

I let out an irritated huff, but allowed See-More to help support me with his hand as I made my way to the door. I squinted through the light as it slid open. Like it had been weeks since I had seen light.

"Two weeks to be precise." A stoic voice responded as we stepped into the hallway. I peered through the bright hallways lights to see Fixit, in his true form, standing nearby. His unblinking eyes regarding me with a flicker of amusement.

"First time being shot?" He asked, as confusion clearly showed through my face, "Your body took longer than expected to heal through the wounds, I can only imagine how long the mental anguish will take to heal."

I raised a brow at that. As far as I could tell my mental state seemed as abnormal as ever.

"Oh…very interesting." Fixit spoke, seemingly to himself as he stared into my eyes. Standing there, with the strange android staring so intensely, I couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable.

"Oh, hey there Fixit!" See-More greeted as he peered around me, "Is Blackfire still waiting? I got Wykkyd up and ready to go."

"So I see." Fixit responded with a nod to him, he then turned around. "She's waiting in the briefing room, please follow me."

The briefing room turned out to be our old kitchen. The black orb was floating near the fridge and Red-X leaning casually against a counter. Both looked over in our direction as we entered.

"So Sleeping Beauty finally decides to grace us with his presence." Red-X said, smile in his voice as he stood up from the counter, "Do you know how long you've kept us waiting?"

"2 weeks, 0 days, 0 hours, 2 minutes, and 29 seconds." Fixit responded without missing a beat. The room fell silent as we regarded him, blank faces decorating the room.

"Right…that long." Red-X muttered, folding his arms and leaning back against the counter.

"Anyways." Blackfire spoke up, the floating robot turning back towards me, "Kyd Wykkyd, if you are up to it, I have another thing I would like to have you do for me."

The collar felt uncomfortably tight as she spoke this. I looked up into the floating orb's red lens, to show that I was listening.

"It has recently come to my attention that we might run into some trouble before we can begin the next phase of my plan…unless we do proper surveillance first."

I strangely had this suspicion that by _we _she meant _me_.

"Hold on, what do you mean by trouble?" See-More asked, stepping up beside me, "You mean the Titans?"

"In a matter of speaking, yes." Blackfire replied. Earning confused looks from both See-More and I.

"The Titan's have expanded their little crime fighting group," Red-X spoke up, "While you two were busy being captured I had front row seats to the showing of Professor Light getting the crap kicked out of him by every do-gooder you can think of, and many that I didn't even know did good."

"The Teen Titans are much larger than you last remember," Fixit continued, stepping around us, "Which means they are much more of a threat. Now while its highly unlikely that they are still fighting as one massive team within the city it will do us good to know which ones do still remain. That's where, I believe, you come in Kyd Wykkyd."

"We need you to search the city, thoroughly..." Blackfire ordered. She then paused, which couldn't help but worry me, because I knew she was not finished giving orders. "…and once you have done that I need you to search the Titans Tower."

I felt my entire body grow cold, the pain in my limbs no longer mattered to me.

"Whoa there! Are you crazy!" See-More exclaimed, stepping in front of me, "You can't send Wykkyd into their tower! They'll capture him before he can even step a foot inside!"

"Their tower's defenses may be enough to keep a common thief like Red-X away," Blackfire replied, earning a huff from the thief, "But the Titan's virtually have no experience with Wykkyd's powers and if, by chance, they do remember anything of him it will be the delusional idea that he's safely sealed away in a frozen prison."

"I…I guess that makes sense." See-More said, unsurely. He then looked over to me, "Well Kyd, are you ok with breaking into our archrivals base?"

I looked at him like he had two eyes. No, I wasn't ok with this. There was so much that could go wrong, and I knew firsthand what can happen if you underestimate the Titans. The cold chill refused to leave my body; it was almost like I was back in my frozen prison again.

"If you cannot go through with this then we cannot move forward with the plan, and if we cannot move forward with the plan…" Blackfire warned, just then the collar felt a lot colder than my body when I heard the dark intentions behind her warning. I knew what power she had over me, but for a split moment I wondered if death would be better than a run in with the Titans. After a few seconds of silence I slowly nodded my head.

"You're really…you're really going to do it?" See-More pressed. I nodded again, refusing to look up from the ground. "Well if he's going than I'm going."

"Excuse me?" Blackfire questioned, I to looked over at the Cyclopes with confusion.

"Well…yeah, Wykkyd and I are partners in crime after all." See-More continued, sounding slightly nervous with all eyes on him, "And besides I could help a lot with hunting down Titans by using my newly repaired eye."

"This city isn't your playground anymore kid." Red-X reminded See-More, "If Robin or any of his pals see you you're as good as jail bait."

"I believe I might have a solution to that." Fixit spoke up; fishing inside his robe he soon produced two rings.

"Uh…what good are these things?" See-More questioned as Fixit placed them in his hands, "They don't even look valuable."

"They are souvenirs from the Teen Titan, Cyborg," the stoic android replied looking down at them, almost affectionately, "And, with the help of Blackfire, I managed to make the necessary repairs to use them to disguise myself as a normal human being, as they were originally intended for. If I'm not mistaken, it should do the same for you."

"Whoa…really!" See-More exclaimed, his eye brightening with wonder.

"Give it a try." Fixit offered, "Simply slip one on each middle finger, and then touch them together with your fists."

"Ok, cool!" See-More replied, eagerly slipping on the rings. Blackfire, Red-X, and I watched on in silent wonder as he brought his hands back, fingers curling into fists. "Here goes nothing!"

The Cyclopes then smashed his fists together. A bright light instantly filled the room and I was forced to shield my eyes, though as quickly as it appeared it vanished. I peered from the cover of my cape to see a stranger standing where See-More once stood. He wore a white, long sleeved shirt with a familiar green eye symbol on the chest with white pants and black shoes. He had short, cropped black hair and a pair of bright green eyes.

"Er…how do I look?" the boy asked me. I was almost shocked when I realized the boy sounded exactly like See-More.

"See for yourself." Fixit spoke, pulling out a small mirror from his robes. See-More turned and then froze when he caught his reflection. He remained that way for several seconds before letting out a whoop of delight followed by his familiar laugh.

"No way! This is unbelievable!" See-More cried out, snatching the mirror from Fixit's hands and gazing into it. He felt both eyes on his face, "Man, they feel so real! This is so awesome!"

"Yes, well, when you are quite finished admiring yourself I believe you and Kyd Wykkyd have something to do." Blackfire spoke up above all of See-More's laughs and cries of delight.

"Oh!" the teenaged villain breathed, looking around as if realizing we were here for the first time, "Right…er, here's your mirror back Fixit…"

"Thank you, See-More." The android replied, an amused smile on his face, "Now, you simply need to remove the rings to revert back to your original self, which you will need to do if you ever wish to switch what vision you are on, or weapon, or what have you."

"Right…right…" See-More said absentmindedly, still tracing the outlines of his eyes with the tips of his fingers.

"I trust you will be able to keep him out of trouble." Blackfire said to me. I looked over at the strange boy with See-More's voice as he rubbed his hands over his eyes, wide smile on his face. The only response I could give to Blackfire was a hopeless shrug.

XxXxXxXxX

"So unreal." See-More continued in a far away voice as we walked along the streets of Jump City. My 'partner in crime' had been preoccupied with his new body for the last hour and I was constantly tempted to convince him to help me search. Certainly another eye…well pair of eyes would help tracking down any Titans much faster. Yet it felt wrong to pull him away from what might very well be his ultimate fantasy come true.

Still, I had terrible eye sight during the day. It was so bad that I had to risk walking through the streets. Though I did so knowing that all I had to worry about was the occasional odd stare, no one in this city besides a Titan seemed to know I was a crook. Whether it was dumb luck or skill, I was a mystery to them all.

We walked by all the major teen hangouts that I knew of. The pizza place, the bookstore, the arcade, and while there were plenty of regular teenaged humans, none of them wore tight, multicolored spandex.

"Maybe all the Titans left." See-More spoke up after awhile, briefly leaving his fantasy world, "Maybe they think that with all the villains gone that they don't need to defend this city anymore."

I shrugged in reply, though I had wondered the same thing myself some hours ago. While seeing none of the new additions to the team was a possibility, I always assumed the original Titan's were out in the city at least once a day, but it was getting close to evening, and still nothing. I began to consider getting the hard part over with and just sneak over to Titan's Tower now when we turned a corner and I saw her.

It was one of those outdoor restaurant type places. The ones where I would always see couples eating together at night at the multiple small tables situated under giant umbrellas. It was there that I saw her, sitting alone at one of the tables. Jinx.

I froze in place when I saw her, afraid that any sudden movement would alert her to my presence. See-More, once again lost in the examination of his eyes, walked past me and closer towards the tables. Quickly, I placed a halting hand on his shoulder.

"Huh? What's up Kyd?" See-More asked looking back at me. I didn't share his glance, only staring directly at the teen sitting at the table. Slowly See-More followed my gaze until he saw who I was seeing. He let out a small gasp.

"No way…it's Jinx!" Then, to my horror, he began waving his arms and suddenly called out, "Hey Jinx! Over here! It's-!"

In a flash I gripped See-More at the back of his collar and pulled him into me, and into my cloak. Vanishing into the darkness we reappeared on the roof of the restaurant.

"Hey! What's the big-!" See-More tried to question but I clamped a hand over his mouth and held him still before peering over the side. From our angle I could just make out Jinx's pink hair. She had turned to see who had called, but it didn't appear that she had caught sight of us.

See-More's struggling quickly brought my confused captive to my attention. Using my free hand I placed a finger over my lips, indicating that he should keep quiet. See-More stared at me for a moment before nodding his head.

"What's going on? Why are we hiding?" See-More whispered as I removed my hand from his mouth. I only shook my head in response, placing a finger over my mouth again as I stared down at the young teen sitting at the table.

See-More looked from me to Jinx; he stared down at her for a few moments before relaxing his body in a sitting position. Agreeing with my plan to sit and wait to see what happens.

We only had to wait a few more minutes for her date to show up. As soon as he did, I heard See-More let out a sharp breath as we both looked down at the teen with red hair and yellow costume.

"You're late…again." Jinx said with a mild note of agitation as he approached.

"I know, I know, traffic was nuts." The boy replied with a smirk, "Though I did manage to get you these."

The boy then produced a bouquet of red roses, leaning over with an outstretched hand in offering to her.

"Oh, you are too kind." Jinx responded sarcastically, though it was easy to hear the smile in her voice as she gently took the flowers from his hand.

"So how has my lucky charm been today?" he asked, taking a seat across from Jinx and disappearing underneath the giant umbrella.

"I've had worse days." Jinx responded, adjusting the purple dress she was wearing, "Though I don't think these people will ever learn to accept me. I had to talk with the waitress for almost an hour to get this seat."

"You just need to give them time to adjust," the boy assured, "Besides, you did try to steal from her father's museum."

"What's going on here?" See-More asked in a shocked voice, I looked over to see that he had already removed his disguise, his hand on his dial, the vision x-ray, "Why is Jinx talking with Kid Flash…and why is she…holding his hand?"

I watched See-More as he watched Jinx, the hand holding his dial began to shake. Uncertainly I placed a calming hand on his arm, See-More jumped slightly at the touch, but the shaking stopped.

"Jinx wasn't frozen with the others…" See-More muttered, his eye returning to its normal appearance as he looked away from the table, "And she's holding hands with Kid Flash…a Titan…"

See-More stood up and I stood up with him, not sure how to proceed. I didn't expect to run into Jinx so soon, let alone accompanied by See-More…

"She betrayed us…didn't she?" the Cyclops asked, his one eye looking up at me, fists clenched at his sides. I looked back at him for a moment before slowly nodding my head. She did.

"But that doesn't make any sense!" See-More argued, as if he didn't believe my acknowledgement, "We had it so good! We could rob what we want, do what we want, why would she up and ruin all of that? Why would she…"

His gaze then fell to the ground. I had never seen See-More so depressed and defeated. Always the one for jokes, for laughs, it wasn't right seeing him look so down. I began to walk towards See-More, to offer some kind of comfort, when his hand suddenly rose to his dial.

"JINX!" See-More roared in a voice not his own. His hand cranked the dial, his disguise dissolving away, and in a split moment a red laser shot out from his eye, tearing through the umbrellas and causing an explosion outside the restaurant. I acted quickly, racing towards See-More and plowing into him, sending us both through my cape.

"Let me go!" See-More raged when we reappeared in an alleyway a few streets down from the explosion, "She needs to pay! She needs to!"

I merely shook my head, doing my best to restrain his flailing. If he continued Kid Flash or Jinx could find us, then we would be goners.

"Don't make me hurt you, Wykkyd!" See-More threatened, raising his hand to his dial again, "I swear I'll-!"

With a burst of strength I slammed See-More into the wall. He connected with a surprised gasp and I kept him pinned there, my face inches away from his. Making sure I held his gaze I slowly shook my head, arms pressed against his shoulders. See-More looked back for a moment, still in shock, before seeming to realize who he was. His hand fell away from his dial.

"Ok…Ok, I get it." See-More said, his body falling limp, I released him. His gaze remained to the ground, his fists still clenched tightly.

Hearing screams I looked back to see a fire had started outside the restaurant. There were no signs of Jinx or Kid Flash. I nudged my head, indicating that we should move.

"Yeah, let's go." See-More spoke in a dead tone. With a silent nod I threw my cape over us and we vanished from the alleyway.

XxXxXxX

We spent most of the rest of the day searching Jump City. See-More now walked right beside me, eyes alert and face void of emotion. I couldn't help but look over to him from time to time, he seemed to be taking Jinx's betrayal hard, harder then I'd ever would have imagined.

Though even with his help we both still couldn't manage to spot a single other Titan, honorary or otherwise. This made me nervous beyond belief, if they were not hanging out in the city…that could only mean they were all still inside the tower.

"It's ok if you want to back out now." See-More spoke to me as we stood at the docks, the Titan's Tower clearly in view across the lake, "I won't hold it against you."

I merely shook my head in reply. We had already come this far, if I was ever going to get rid of this death collar and rescue my teammates I was going to have to make some sacrifices. Namely, learning to ignore my common sense which at the moment was screaming at me to back out and run.

"Alright then, I'll keep my eye on the Tower for ya and let you know what's what." See-More said, tapping the spot on his temple where his dial would be.

I nodded my gratitude and, taking a deep, relaxing breath, gripped my cloak.

"Good luck in there!" See-More called as I pulled myself into the swirling darkness. I closed my eyes, savoring the cold oblivion while it lasted.

_I am so dead._

XxXxXxX

I exited the blackness into the very bottom floor of the tower. Blackfire told me that I had to work my way up, to make sure that I knew what Titans still remained inside. Already I felt cold chills run down my spine as my gaze landed on the Titan's signature T Car. The vehicle sat still and silent, though I walked around it as if it was going to spring to life at any moment.

"It looks like you're in their garage level." See-More spoke up through my communicator, almost making me jump at the sudden noise, "It's a lot smaller than ours isn't it? Though I guess the Titans didn't have to deal with trying to store all of Billy's stolen cars eh?"

I smiled briefly at the comment. It was good to hear that he seemed to have gotten over Jinx and was back to his usual joking remarks.

"There doesn't seem to be any real activity until you reach the upper levels," See-More continued as I examined the vacant garage, "Though I guess Blackfire expects you to check anyway huh?"

I let out a sigh. Yes, yes she does. Gripping my cape I spent the next few minutes teleporting in and out of numerous hallways and rooms. The med room, security room, storage room, trophy room, and a series of empty or insignificant rooms and hallways and no Titan's in sight. It wasn't until I phased into yet another empty hallway that See-More chimed in again.

"Hey Wykkyd, heads up, I think in the hallway with all of their bedrooms, I can see heat signatures in two of the rooms. One of the rooms is right behind you actually."

Feeling another cold chill I turned around to be face to face with a door. On it was carved the word: _Raven_. I gulped.

"Hey man, be careful." See-More warned from my belt, "Don't do anything stupid."

I silently snorted. Right, like I was going to try anything with a half-demon, at least, I wasn't going to try anything without an elderly physic master on my side. With a steady breath I pulled my cape around me and reappeared inside the dark Titan's room.

Immediately I was reminded of my own room. On account of the darkness, not all the creepy furniture. My eyes quickly adjusted to the dark and I was greeted with a girl floating in the middle of the room, back facing me with a purple cloak billowing in the air around her. The realization that I was suddenly so close to a Titan hit me like a dead weight and I took an involuntary step back, my foot thumping the door.

"For the last time…" I heard the floating girl speak in a dark monotone. My entire body tensed up, my heart feeling like it was going to burst. "Stop spying on me while I'm meditating, Beastboy!"

Her back still facing me, I heard the door swish open from behind me. Before I could even react a dark energy swept into me, knocking me out of the room and into the wall with a dull thud. I fell like a lump to the ground, looking up just in time to see the Titan's door swish closed again. Well, that was one Titan accounted for.

"Kyd Wykkyd! You okay!" I heard See-More hiss from my communicator, "I saw your body fly like an arrow out of that room…it was that scary dark girl's room wasn't it?"

I stood up on shaking legs. I didn't realize how terrifying being so close to a half-demon was without backup, had to make a mental note never to do _that_ again.

"Well, I can see that your standing up now so I'm guessing your fine," See-More continued in his hushed tone, "The other heat signature is coming from a room at the end of the hall opposite from what I think their headquarters is."

I quickly moved my way from the demon's door towards the one that See-More mentioned. Upon reaching it I quickly read the name scribed in the door. _Starfire_. I read the name, still feeling nervous but at least it couldn't be as bad as trying to sneak into a half-demon's room.

I gripped my cloak, prepared to enter the darkness once more. Yet just as I made to pull it up the door swished open before my eyes.

"Oh, boyfriend Robin you are finally ready! Marvelous!" A joyous cry burst out from the door as a slender orange skinned alien flew out and wrapped her arms around my body. The cloak fell from my grip as the life was then nearly squeezed out of me as I experienced the first hug of my life as the Titan spun us around in the air, "I cannot wait to watch the movies, and eat the fancy dinner, and watch the stars, and…"

Suddenly, the spinning stopped. I felt my stomach squirm uncomfortably as the girl's hands felt my back, traced up to my neck, and then felt the pointy ear like attachments to my hood.

"Eeeeek! You're not Robin!" the alien exclaimed as I was suddenly released, my bottom hitting the ground rather roughly. I rubbed ribs, making sure each one was still intact and looked up to see a bright green light glowing inches from my face.

"Who are you!" the alien girl demanded, her glowing eyes looking down upon me with such malice I felt near to fainting as her fist edged closer, "Answer me intruder! I demand to-!"

Suddenly her eyes widened in realization. Quickly I pushed back my fear and gripped my cloak, ready to teleport away, when suddenly she grabbed me by my shoulders and lifted me to my feet.

"Oh I am so sorry friend!" the girl exclaimed, brushing me off hastily as I stood there in utter confusion, "You must be another Honorary Titan, my apologies!" She continued as she stopped her brushing and floated back a few feet. In the few moments of breathing time I took notice of the pink dress she was wearing and the light make up on her face.

"I do not recognize you however, my name is Starfire!" the alien greeted, extending out a hand. I looked from it, to my hand which still gripped my cape. Very slowly I released it and gripped the Titan's hand; I immediately regretted it when her grip nearly broke all of my fingers.

"Oh my sincerest apologies!" Starfire exclaimed, apparently noticing my very pained expression and releasing my hand, "I am not from this world and I have been practicing your earthly greetings, I apologize if I hurt you!"

I massaged my pulsing hand as I regarded the alien. She stood right in front of me, no hatred in her eyes, the battle stance gone, there was even a smile on her face.

"Please," the Titan began, leaning in close in a quick movement, making me jump back in reflex, "Might I know your name?"

I stood there with a dumb look on my face. Not knowing how to respond or how to proceed. It had to be only a matter of time before the Titan recognized me as an enemy. It was a miracle that she hadn't already. Before I could make up my mind the sound of rapid footsteps caught my attention.

"Hey Starfire!" A very familiar voice called, making me freeze up, "Sorry I'm late I…Raven? What's with the hat?"

In a flash I gripped my cape and pulled it around me before the alien or the Boy Wonder could react further. I vanished from the hallway and reappeared behind some sort of table. I sat there for a moment, taking in a calming breath. Somewhere in the room I heard the sounds of lasers and crashing noises.

"Kyd Wykkyd!" See-More's voice blared through my communicator, "You okay? I-!"

In a quick movement I gripped the communicator and muted it. The sounds of lasers and crashes suddenly stopped.

"Hey…did you hear that?" a voice called out. I clamped a hand over my mouth to silence any breaths; the other began to reach for a side of my cape.

"The only thing I hear is the sound of me beating your little green butt!" a loud and boastful voice answered back. I pressed myself against the cabinet I sat against as the soft pad of footsteps echoed in the quiet room. I felt the sweat begin to collect on my forehead as I saw a head of green hair appear over the table. I watched it for several moments before…

"Yeah, just you wait till round thirty!" the green headed Titan called back. His hair disappeared from the top of the table. I breathed a silent breath of relief. Without wasting another moment I pulled the cape around me again, reappearing on the roof of the tower. Pulling out my communicator I unmated it, silence followed for a few moments before a hesitant voice spoke.

"Is it safe to talk?" See-More whispered through the communicator, I kept the device unmated to show him that it was, "Hey sorry about that Wykkyd…I saw you escape two people and run into two more…guess I kinda panicked, but it looks like your ok…that last room you were in was their meeting room I'd guess, which should mean you're done searching and you know who all is still in there…so I'll meet you at the docks then, see ya."

I placed the communicator back on my belt. Yet before I could grab my cape something small struck me in the head. Confused, I watched a small pebble drop and fall to the ground.

"I knew I heard someone!"

I turned, slowly, until I was face to face with the green Titan, who stood on the opposite end of the Tower, a triumphant toothy smile on his face.

"You villains just don't know when to quit do you?" He mocked; I continued to watch as he reached for the communicator on his belt.

In that moment I had a choice to make, a vital one. In my mind Blackfire's black robot floated before me.

I pulled my cape around me and vanished from the roof. A moment later I reappeared back on it, directly behind the confused Titan.

"_Kyd Wykkyd." Blackfire spoke through her robot._

In a quick movement I gripped the Titan's thin wrist and twisted it until he was forced to drop his communicator.

"_Your main objective is surveillance." Blackfire continued, my entire face reflected in its lens._

"_But if you can…"_

I could feel the Titan begin to transform. The wrist bent and twisted in my hand as he attempted to morph into some type of animal to fight me off. Without releasing my grip I pulled out a contraption from my cape. A collar, similar to the one around my neck. As fast as Lightning I reached out and placed the collar around the newly transformed green gorilla I was gripping onto. 

The animal roared with rage and I was easily swatted off it with one massive arm. I leapt back a few feet, feeling the sting in my chest, and watched as the animal charged me. Wordlessly I stared the creature down and pressed a button on my new wrist attachment.

"_I would like to have a hostage."_

Electricity surged through the massive animal. Locking its jaws and keeping it from crying out. It was over in seconds and I found myself looking down at a small green boy unconscious on the roof, the collar secured around his frail neck. I slowly walked over to him, unclipping my cape from my back as I did. When I reached the fallen Titan I placed my cape beside him and, with a little bit of effort, lifted him up bridal style. I adjusted us so that I now stood before my cape, which looked more like a square hole in the roof. I then dropped the Titan on top of it, the green teen falling though the cape and disappearing from sight.

I then reached over and picked up my cape from the ground and fastened it back around my neck, under the cold collar brace. Looking around the rooftop I quickly found the fallen communicator. As I walked over to it, the sounds coming through it got louder and louder.

"Beastboy…Beastboy….Beastboy what's going on out there!" the loud Titan from earlier called through it. I stared down at the communicator for a moment before raising my foot and bringing it down upon the device, smashing it to pieces.

**To Be Continued…**


	9. Insight

**The Wicked One**

**Chapter 9: Insight **

XXXXXX

"That's quite a prize you got there." Red-X remarked as soon as See-More and I stepped into the kitchen, his masked head tilting towards the small green figured tied up in a chair centered in the middle of the room, "Not even I have managed to steal a Titan before."

"Yeah, they didn't even see it coming!" See-More answered with a laugh, slapping me on the back. "Kyd Wykkyd just swooped in and grabbed him right underneath all of their noses!"

I glanced over at my teammate, while there was now a familiar smile on his face I couldn't help but hear an undertone of something beneath his cheerful tone.

"A commendable feat to be sure." A stoic voice commended as Fixit and Blackfire's orb both floated into the room, Fixit regarding me with a blank expression.

"I see you managed to steal a hostage for me after all… and a very good one at that." Blackfire's voice hummed from the robot as the red lens examined the green teen, "Am I to assume the rest of his little team is still here as well? And what of the honorary Titans?"

"The other Titans are still at their tower." Fixit answered, still looking me dead in the eyes, I found myself almost compelled to look back into his blank stare, "And the honorary Titan Kid Flash along with Jinx remains within the city as well."

"Jinx. She was a member of _your_ team once before. Your leader if I'm not mistaken?" Blackfire quipped.

"Yeah, she _was_ our leader." See-More replied the dark undertone even more evident now. I broke my gaze with Fixit to see my teammate now gazing at the floor, his hands clenched into fists, "But not anymore."

"See-More. Your disguise is gone. Did you and Kyd Wykkyd happen to run into any trouble?" Fixit spoke, his gaze now focused on the dark skinned teen. The one-eyed criminal kept his gaze at the ground, refusing to answer.

"See-More, look at me."

While it sounded more like a request than a demand See-More immediately looked up into Fixit's gaze. The two shared a look for several seconds before the mechanic let out a weary sigh.

"It would seem See-More fired upon Kid Flash and Jinx." Fixit said in a soft breath.

"He what!" Red-X exclaimed, standing up fully from his previously relaxed position against the wall, "Are you insane! You could have ruined this entire operation with that stunt, kid!"

"We got away before anyone saw us!" See-More shot back, "They don't have any idea who did that!"

"That isn't the problem," Red-X retorted, squeezing where the bridge of his nose lay behind the mask, "The problem is that they know that_ someone_ shot at them, they are going to be on high alert now, and now that green skin over here is with us the Teen Titans have probably already rounded up those two to try and hunt us down."

"That isn't necessarily true." Fixit spoke up, causing See-More and Red-X to look over at him, quizzical looks on their faces. I already had my gaze almost forcibly fixed with his once again as the villain continued, "From what I can gather Kid Flash works mostly alone, and not only that but he has quite the superiority complex. One could assume that he believes he can handle us on his own, and for the most part, he can."

"Well that's reassuring." Red-X sighed, leaning back against the wall.

"But Kid Flash has changed since the last time your team has fought him, hasn't he?" Fixit now spoke, and it almost felt like he was speaking directly to me the way his eyes seemed trained on my own. "He is not just one man running solo anymore. He has a love, he has a weakness…"

"He has Jinx." See-More finished.

"Correct." Fixit spoke, breaking his transfixing gaze from me to look over to the floating orb beside him. "You have been unusually quiet Blackfire; you are the leader in all of this, our planning means nothing without your consent."

"Sounds to me like you all are doing quite well without any consent from me; I must say I'm quite moved to hear you all so eager to break me out of jail."

"We all have our reasons for helping you." Fixit returned, looking away from the robotic orb now.

"Yes, yes and I have not forgotten." The orb then turned to Red-X, "My dearest thief, you have been so loyal and worked so hard for me for quite awhile now with next to no reward… how would you like to have some of your precious Zinothium right here, right now…"

Red-X's head immediately snapped up at that.

"That all depends…" The thief answered, now walking over to join the rest of us standing in the center of the room, "…is this charity…or reward?"

"Consider it an incentive." Blackfire responded as another flap opened up from beneath the orb's red eye, a vial of a bright red liquid clenched in its extending claw, "One vial now, and the rest when you have taken care of Jinx and Kid Flash."

Red-X stared at the vial, almost tenderly, before reaching out and taking it from the floating robot with careful and gentle hands.

"Consider it done." Red-X stated, placing the vial within the belt he had around his waist.

"What...what is this…what's going on?" A low mumble rose amongst us, immediately all of our heads looked down at the Titan strapped in the chair.

"It would seem Beastboy is awakening." Fixit stated.

The green Titan's head slowly raised, his green eyes, hazy at first, fixed on us one by one.

"Not supposed to be…anymore bad guys…froze them all up…" The Titan mumbled, his body swaying ever so slightly.

"Looks like you missed a few, kid." Red-X spoke up, an obvious smugness in his voice.

"That collar must have had more juice in it then I thought." Blackfire mused before the robot turned its red lens on me, "Or you're more unforgiving than I had first assumed, Kyd Wykkyd."

I stared at the droid for a moment before shrugging. He was a Titan; I was a H.I.V.E F.I.V.E member, simple as that.

"S-Starfire?" the green boy called softly at the sound of Blackfire's voice.

"Close…" Blackfire cooed, the orb floating in closer so that it's red eye took in all of the green Titan's face, "think reeeeal hard Beastboy, I know it isn't your strong suit."

For his credit, the green Titan squinted as he stared at the robot, as if trying to remember if he recognized it from somewhere.

"When we first met I lied to you. I told you that your jokes were funny."

At that moment the Titan's eyes widened, and he struggled in his restrains for the first time since awakening.

"Blackfire!" Beastboy cried out with a tad bit more strength than before, he looked around at all of us with more life and panic in his eyes, "I've got to warn Robin and the others, I've got to-!"

But as soon as he tried to break free, as soon as he tried to form into an animal that could escape, the collar around his neck activated. Beastboy screamed in pain as the electricity surged through his body and it was only a second before he was doubled over in the chair, breathing heavy in his still human form.

"If my sources are correct you recognize that collar around your neck." Blackfire continued to speak in her soft, almost lustrous voice, "A very unique invention, the collar shocks its captive into doing whatever the master desires you to do. But while my friend enjoyed seeing you change into your many different animal forms I find I like you staying just the way you really are. Weak and susceptible."

"The others will come rescue me." Beastboy growled, giving the floating robot a death stare unlike which I have seen on his usual obliviously joyful face, "None of you will get away with whatever you're planning."

"Oooh so serious." Blackfire cooed, laughter in her voice "Is my little green Titan actually starting to grow up? Not to worry however, your friends won't have to waste their time searching for you; we are planning to bring you straight to them."

The green boy's eyes narrowed.

"What are you-."

The Titan was interrupted however when the room started to flash a bright red color, sirens blasting through the entire base, instantly causing everyone but Fixit to flinch. Immediately the mechanic's eyes began to flash red.

"What's the problem? Blackfire demanded, turning to face Fixit.

"Someone is trying to access the front doors." He answered, his gaze then turned to the giant TV in the connecting living room, "I shall pull up the monitors."

Instantly the TV flashed on, revealing multiple screens of security cameras inside and outside the base. A screen of a figure outside the main doors was selected and instantly increased in size, revealing a slender girl with pink hair trying to use the access panel; her frustration could be seen from here.

"Ahh well isn't this a surprise." Blackfire spoke, the orb floated closer to the screen, "It seems our next target has brought herself to us."

I looked over at See-More again to see him staring silently at the screen; the fists clenched at his sides were now trembling.

"Red-X." Blackfire stated simply as the orb turned to face him.

"Consider it done." Red-X repeatedbut before he could even make a move to leave See-More suddenly stepped forward.

"Blackfire, ah ma'am, I would like to take care of Jinx." My fellow H.I.V.E member spoke up, his eye still on the screen.

"Oh you do, do you?" the Tamaranian responded, a faint hint of a smile in her voice, "And why is that, if I might ask?"

"I want to know why she abandoned us." See-More answered without pause, without breaking his gaze from the screen, "I want to know why she betrayed us and left us to rot before we do anything else to her."

"Sounds like a good enough reason to me." Blackfire answered the smile no longer just a hint. "Red-X, you're on hold for now."

"As long as I get to keep the Zinothium." The thief said with a shrug before resting back against the wall.

"You coming with me?" See-More asked, now facing me. I stared back into his face, seeing no smile, no cheerful jesting in his expression, just serious determination. It was like looking into a mirror.

I nodded once.

"Good, then while you two take care of Jinx, Fixit and I will proceed with our little green Titan here."

"You won't get anything out of me!" Beastboy swore his green eyes aflame as he glared at the floating orb. In response Blackfire let out a bubbly laugh, so light and carefree that even I felt a shiver run down my spine.

"You misunderstand, my little Titan…" the Tamaranian spoke as Fixit moved towards his tied up body, "but thankfully my good friend is here to rectify that…"

Without a word the mechanic placed both hands on the sides of the green Titan's face and his eyes bore into the teen's green ones. Beastboy stared back into them, looks of struggle draining away to mindlessness.

"Kyd Wykkyd, See-More." Blackfire spoke, breaking me and my companion from our gazing. I looked up to see her hovering near the screen, Jinx still standing, impatiently trying to access the front doors. "Your former leader awaits."

I stared at the screen; I stared into the projected face of Jinx, of our fallen leader. Her face was still decorated in pink, my least favorite color; it had always been a struggle for me even to look at her, so vibrant was her hair and face. Now, somewhere deep inside, I regretted not looking at her face more. It was not unpleasant, and, in a few ways, in reminded me of my mother.

A sudden hand clasping on my shoulder broke me from my gazing. I glanced over it to see the hand connecting to See-More, his face a permanent stain of grimness and grit.

"Come on Kyd, let's see this done." He spoke in a voice not his own, he then grabbed my cloak, his grip strong, determined. "Can you take us both through your cape? It'll be faster that way."

I looked into his eye then. Searching, for some reason, some glimpse of a smile, some bit of humor that still remained trapped in his solemn stare. I found none.

I nodded in response to his question and, gently pulling the cape from his hand, held it up like a curtain indicating with my head for him to walk through. See-More looked from me to the extended cloak hesitating only for a moment before taking a deep sigh and proceeded into it. With a quick move I followed closely behind him, pulling my cloak around us and pulling us into the cold dark.

**XXXXXX**

A moment later we reappeared outside into the cold night air, though its bitter wind was a comfort from the sinking icy feeling of teleportation. Instantly my eyes turned towards our base, and the small, pink girl who stood before his doors.

"There she is!" See-More hissed, taking an instant step forward hand on his dial. Though even before I could hold a hand up he halted, I looked up to his face to see his hand trembling, still clenching the dial. "What do we do? What do we do? Do we talk to her first or do we just attack? What…"

His pondering ended however and I watched as his single pupil widened in surprise. Slowly I turned my own head to see our base again, the pink girl now much larger as she walked closer towards the two of us.

"Kyd Wykkyd...? See-More? Is that really you? Both of you?"

"Jinx…" See-More breathed weakness in his voice, but shaking hand still on the dial.

"How in the world are you two here?" Jinx asked us, stepping ever closer, curiosity flickering off those cat like eyes, "How did you two make it after…after…"

"After you betrayed us!" See-More shouted, stepping forward right when Jinx stopped, seemingly stunned.

"I…"

"Why did you betray us? I thought we were friends…I thought we were your family!" See-More continued, his voice rising as he shouted. I had never seen my companion so torn, so distraught, and by the horrid look on Jinx's face, I don't suppose she had either.

"See-More…I…I didn't mean for…this to happen…"

"Didn't mean for it to happen?" See-More echoed, his voice dripping with disbelief, "You pushed us into joining the Brotherhood, we didn't want any of their planning but you insisted, _you_ insisted. And what happened…you _**betrayed us**_."

The dials cranked on his eye until See-More's shone with a bright red. He took another step forward then as Jinx took a step back, her hands raised.

"Please See-More…" Jinx spoke, her eyes solely on him, "…you don't want to do this."

"Why did you betray us Jinx?" See-More almost pleaded, his hand now tightly pressed against his dial, "Mammoth, Gizmo, and Billy Numerous are frozen…forever because of you…don't you care? Don't you care at all that your friends are gone?"

At this Jinx stopped moving back, instead she stood taller, hands still outstretched, her gaze locking with See-More's.

"Those guys…were _not_ my friends." Jinx spoke a fiery certainty in her words, "We were accomplices, and we _used_ each other to steal and to hurt others. They did it for fun, I did it because I thought it was the only thing I could do. I wasn't given any choice, even since I was born, I was raised with these powers, I was raised to be cursed and to curse others, and I lived my life believing all I could be was a villain."

"So you pretended to have fun with us?" See-More pressed, his voice shaking, his resolve breaking, "You pretended to enjoy hanging out with us…hanging out with me…"

His last few words came out in a whisper, a voice so low that only I could hear it.

"Like I said, I did it because I thought I didn't have a choice." Jinx replied with so much conviction I couldn't help but notice See-More flinch. "I tried my best to accept it, to make something good out of it, but all I ever- we ever ended up with was failure and disappointment. I wanted something more than that."

"That isn't true…" See-More hissed, his voice now soft and shaking, "That isn't true…we still had fun…we still were a team…despite the failures despite the mistakes…we stuck it out together…we…"

"It held nothing for me See-More." Jinx spoke softly, her arms lowering to her sides, "I was living a lie, I was fighting through a nightmare that I needed to wake up from. This is who I am now, I am with the Titan's, I am fighting for a purpose that actually has meaning now…"

"So that's all we were to you then…" See-More whispered, his single red eye trained at his leader, our leader, "…we were just second rates, nobodies, people you _had_ to endure because you had no other choice…"

"I'm sorry See-More." Jinx spoke, rising up her arms to us now, and then I saw the fire return to her eyes as pink energy danced off her fingers.

"And now you're going to erase the only two who remain…you are going to stick us in that freezer and forget about us…" See-More realized just as I did.

In a flash I gripped my cloak, I made to grab at See-More's arm, but I was too slow, we always were with him.

A great force struck me in the back before I even had time to react, sending me off my feet and into the air. Time seemed to slow down then as I floated in mid-air, and I watched as Jinx and See-More stood against each other.

"I'm sorry See-More." Jinx whispered again, a single tear freeing itself from her pink eyes. In response See-More let out a howl of rage, hand still on the dial.

"I WON'T LET YOU FORGET ABOUT ME!" my companion roared at the top of his lungs, but even before he could launch an attack the pink energy pulsed through the ground around him, an instant later the earth itself was torn up from its roots. I watched as See-More disappeared amongst the destruction as time sped up again.

I tried gripping my cloak as I rolled like a rag doll against the ground, but the force of it was too much and I couldn't even make sense of where the sky was, let alone have enough bearings to grab anything.

The world continued to spin even when I stopped moving. I watched as a blurred red and yellow shape walk towards me, a pink one following him.

"Did you have to be so rough?" I heard Jinx's voice ask as the red and yellow figure leaned in closer.

"They weren't going to be gentle with you." Kid Flash's voice answered, strangely morbid and even, "I was in their base, they've got Beastboy and they planned to make you their next hostage."

"We have to warn Robin and the others then!" Jinx exclaimed. I felt a strong grip take hold of my metallic collar, lifting me up slightly.

"First we need to take these two back to the Brotherhood's trophy room."Kid Flash spoke. In a hasty move I reached to grab my cloak once again, only to hear it tear as I tried to pull it up.

"Run into some bad luck, Kyd Wykkyd?" I heard Jinx ask sweetly. I glared up at her as my vision finally began to clear.

"Your leader made a dumb mistake sending you two after us." Kid Flash piped up, grinning at me, "Jinx and I know every little trick your team has."

"How about this trick?" Red-X asked, suddenly appearing directly behind Jinx. With a surprised gasp the pink haired teen tried to turn to face him. With deadly grace Red-X had her by the arm and planted a palm to her back, instantly red electricity surged through her body and with a cry Jinx fell to the ground.

"Jinx!" Kid Flash cried out. I felt his grip lessen but before he let go I gripped him by his own collar and as he turned to face me I launched my head against his. A great surge of pain hit me as soon as we connected, sending me swimming back through haziness, as I fell back I watched as Kid Flash tried to stand on shaky legs, instantly Red-X was upon him.

"Not so fast now, are ya kid?" the thief taunted as he struggled with the speedster. My dizziness quickly faded as I stood back up, Red-X still sat over Kid Flash, only now the Titan sported two large X shaped bindings that went around both his legs and his torso.

"Blackfire told me you're able to vibrate through solid matter." Red-X spoke to Kid Flash, standing up to admire his handiwork, "Good thing that sicko Robin developed these bindings to tighten at any sign of struggle…"

Kid Flash froze on the ground, face drenched in sweat, cold determined eyes trained on Red-X, a small smile finally broke on his face.

"It's good to see some of you villains are still around, I was beginning to get bored…"

"Can't have that can we?" Red-X replied with a chuckle of his own, he then gripped Kid Flash by the shoulders and began to drag him towards the base. "You grab Jinx, and find where your little one-eyed friend disappeared to."

I nodded once before glancing over at Jinx. Her body still lay where it had fallen and aside from the occasional twitch she wasn't moving. I quickly walked over to the destroyed ground, searching for any sign of See-More, and finding none. Regardless I carefully stepped into the destroyed rubble and began shifting through the rocks. As I pushed through the larger hunks of earth I couldn't help but glance over in Jinx's direction, she still hadn't moved from her spot and from my angle I was unable to see her face. Probably was for the best.

"Hey Kyd, what happened to your cape?" See-More voice asked somewhere from behind me, genuinely surprised I quickly turned to see my companion standing there, dirt now decorating his clothes but other than that looking completely unharmed.

I followed his eye to my torn cape, the fabric almost ripped completely in half horizontally, only shrugging in reply. This kind of thing happened all the time, and I had plenty spares.

"Well, it looks like you managed to handle with Jinx." See-More noted, looking over at the fallen girl. I stepped down from the fallen rubble and began making my way towards her, See-More's footsteps close behind me.

XXXXXX

"You have all served me very well these past few days." Blackfire spoke as the floating droid hovered around the three captured prisoners. "And while I know each of you are doing this for your own personal gain, still, you have my thanks…and now comes a defining moment in my plan- our plan…we have with us Kid Flash and Jinx, the only two Honorary Titans still within the city who could warn our do-gooding team of the impending danger, and with them, Beastboy himself, the mindless fool who will be key in our next phase succeeding…"

I carefully watched the prisoners in question. Jinx remained unconscious, her pink face calm and peaceful. Kid Flash glared at all of us, his face fixed in an uncharacteristically serious expression. And then there was Beastboy, his eyes open yet empty, face alive yet expressionless.

"For you see our next plan will take us into the Titan's base itself…" I heard immediate gasps at that. The thought of going back inside that tower sent familiar chills down my spine.

"Blackfire…" Fixit spoke up, a look of worry breaking through his usual calmness, "are you sure this is wise?"

"Very." The Tamaranian responded, "In case you have forgotten my prison won't be found in some mere jail down the street, it's in deep space, galaxies away from this little blot you all call home."

"So that's it then…we're…"

"Yes." Blackfire broke in, the red orb reflecting the four of us in its wide gaze, "We are going to steal the Titan's T-ship."


	10. Jinx

_**AN: Chapters 10 and 11 will be covering a little bit of back story on both Jinx and Kyd Wykkyd. I do not plan on using any references from the Teen Titan's comic for either one; they will be based mostly on my own imagination so I apologize for any inconsistencies. Thank you everyone who has read and/or reviewed the story thus far.**_

**The Wicked One**

**Chapter 10: Jinx**

**XXXXXX**

Roses. Bright and red. Those were the first things she could recall back when she was just a baby. They were there in the hospital room when she first entered the world and they decorated her house and small bedroom. She woke up every morning to the sweet smell of roses, the aroma sticking with her throughout the rest of the day and until she fell asleep.

Her mother loved to garden in her free time. She had flowers of all kinds; dandelions, daffodils, lilies, honeysuckle, jasmines…but the young girl's senses always drifted to the bright red roses. One day her mother plucked one from the bush and placed it behind one of the girl's ears and said with a smile.

"They look prettier on you."

The young girl squealed with delight and spent the rest of the day feeling its soft petals between her fingers and gazing into mirrors. She fell asleep with it still in her hair but woke the next morning to find it gone.

The girl immediately ran to her mother only to find the rose, withered and blackening, rested in the palm of her mother's hand as she stood over a trash can. The young girl began accusing her mother, shouting and screaming at her with tears running down her face demanding she tell her why she would do such a thing to her rose.

Her mother smiled sadly back at her and placed the dying rose on the table before walking over to her daughter and kneeling down beside her she answered:

"All things, even those that are beautiful, have an end. I don't expect you to understand that right now but just cherish everything you hold dear to you, my little rose, for you never know when you might lose them."

Although the young girl was confused at what her mother said to her it was enough to make her stop crying and feel slightly bad at accusing her mother, especially when she began to hug her longer than she ever remembered being hugged.

Her mother never again cut away a rose from the bushes but when winter came around the young girl refused to go outside to play in the snow with the other children. When her mother questioned her she refused to elaborate, she didn't want to upset her mother like she did with the dead rose. Seeing the dead flowers outside during every winter only reminded her of her mother's confusing words and sad eyes. She couldn't stand the thought anymore than seeing all of her mother's beautiful flowers dead and withered.

Each spring brought new found joy whenever her mother's garden grew back to life and the young girl would once again play and laugh and forget her worries and troubles. This pattern went on for several years up until it was time for the young girl to go to school. She knew it was time even before she was told, all of her friends talked and talked about how excited they were until she felt she couldn't wait any longer herself.

"I'm sorry sweetie, but I do not think you should go to school this year, maybe next year." Her mother said to her when the young girl confronted her early that morning.

Once again she could not hold back her tears or her angry accusations and she ended up breaking a vase of roses before storming off to her room, making sure it slammed shut nice and loud. She lay curled up in her bed the rest of that morning while the feelings of anger and regret battled in her chest

The year passed very slowly for the young girl. Each morning she would watch through her bedroom window as all of her friends ran with smiles on their faces to the bus stop and each afternoon she would watch them from the garden as they returned home. Some days they would visit her and tell her about their time in school but it only aided in deepening the young girl's depression, gradually her friends visited her less and less.

When summer finally came the young girl found herself alone, sitting in the garden by herself. She cried as she hid from her mother amongst all the flowers, swearing to herself that she would never cry again. As she hid amidst the flowers her hand subconsciously plucked a rose from its bush, she watched as it slowly withered and died before her eyes.

The end of summer came quickly enough and the girl knew what her mother would say even before she asked the question.

"I'm sorry; it isn't the right time yet. I could home school you, if you would like?"

But the young girl only shook her head in response. Despite the anger and hate that once again boiled within her she refused to let it out, refused to break her promise to herself. She did not look through her windows anymore and whenever she was out in the garden she stayed submerged in the flowers, hidden from the rest of the world.

Over time she got used to playing by herself, she even began to enjoy it more than when she played with her friends. Her mother and the flowers were all she needed to be happy. She told that lie to herself over and over again, until she finally believed it.

**XXXXXX**

**5 years later…**

**XXXXXX**

It did not rain like it did at funerals in movies. The day did not look dreary in the least bit. The sun was out and shining and the entire event was graced with flowers and life. What few people there were did not even look sad telling her that her mother had "gone to a better place" and that "she is still watching over you".

She wanted to spit at their feet. They knew nothing about her mother and they knew nothing about her suffering. They would simply tell her empty words then go back to tend to their perfect lives and perfect gardens while her own withered and died.

The funeral was short, or at least, if felt short to her. She existed as if in a haze, the shadows of people walked and talked around her until they finally disappeared. She found herself alone beside her mother's grave, sitting down; arms wrapped around her legs, eyes dry as dust.

"Jinx."

A voice broke through her haze, saying the word deep and meaningfully. The young girl glanced up to see a woman draped in black, a stern look on her face as she looked back down on her.

"What do you want?" The girl asked, she didn't mean to sound harsh but that was how her voice came out, and she didn't plan on apologizing for it.

"I heard that your mother passed away a few days ago." The woman spoke, and if she was insulted by the girl's tone she didn't show it. "I thought I might come and pay my respects."

The girl glanced up again at the old woman who was now looking at the grave. She wasn't anyone the girl had seen before, nor did she remember her mother talking about knowing any old woman like this one. The girl gazed back at the ground and they both fell into a very deep kind of silence. The moment was so quiet and still the girl found herself not even trying to _think_ too loudly incase it somehow broke the mood.

"Your mother was a very bright woman." The old woman continued after a few minutes of this silence, "Not just bright in mind, but she had a sort of radiance to her, do you not agree?"

The girl found herself nodding without really thinking. Of course she was radiant; she was all smiles, all laughs. She didn't deserve to die, not in a world filled with shadow people, she didn't deserve to have her light snuffed out.

"You can cry," The woman continued, and the girl could feel the old woman's eyes on her without having to look up, "you can scream, it is not wise to hold such raw emotion in. You'll only end up feeling worse-."

"What do you know?" The young girl hissed back, hugging her legs closer to her, "You don't know my mother and you _don't _know me."

"On the contrary, young Jinx, I know you very well…"

"Stop calling me that!" The girl shouted, still staring at the ground, "That isn't my name…"

"Oh really?" The woman challenged, and this time the girl dared to look up only to see the old woman staring back down at her again, a slight smile on her face, "Then tell me child, what is your name?"

"It's…" But as quickly as the girl thought she knew her name she had forgotten it. Every time she tried to think of what it was all that came up in her head was one word. Jinx.

"I don't remember what it is."

The woman let out a small, amused laugh.

"Such a pride spirit you have. I could use someone like you at my school."

"I already have a school…" the young girl protested, the woman raised an eyebrow when she didn't continue.

"Yes, go on." The old woman pressed, "What is the name of this school of yours?"

Only blanks filled the girls head. She tried to remember any teachers, classmates, classrooms, but nothing was there. She had to have gone to a school in her life…hadn't she?

"Poor child, your mother has been holding your talent back all these years, keeping you locked up in that house. This is your first time even being away from home, isn't it?"

The girl tried to protest, but even before she opened her mouth she knew she couldn't remember a time ever straying far from her mom's house and garden. She looked up into the old woman's wrinkled face, her confusion and grief eating away at her brain.

"What's…what's happening to me?" The girl asked, a sudden tear dripping from her eye. The old woman smiled softly and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"You're beginning to realize the truth." She said simply, keeping her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"The...truth?"

"The truth that your mother thought you were a danger to society, that she needed to lock you up forever if you or anyone was to be safe."

"That's a lie!" The young girl shouted brushing off the old woman's hand and standing up to full height, her pink eyes glaring into the black ones.

"_Think_ about it, Jinx, ever since you were born you were a curse on your family. Your father left, you lost your first house, relative's children mysteriously vanished or got injured, close friends wound up dead or missing. Everywhere you and your mother went, bad luck followed."

"No…no, you're wrong!" The girl insisted, doing her best to try and fight the new wave of memories flowing into her, "I was born in a room with roses, I lived in a nice house with roses, it was always just me and my mother and we were happy together, I know we were!"

"Ah yes, your mother always did have a thing for flowers, especially roses." The old woman spoke, her voice now wistful and calm. "They always have such a strong aroma, do they not? Take a strong enough whiff and it's almost like they overwhelm all of the senses."

The old woman then looked down at her mother's grave; the young girl did as well, a bouquet of roses rested against the tomb.

"You brought those for her, correct?"

The young girl nodded. Very slowly and carefully the old woman walked over and pulled free a rose from the bunch, despite the girl not wanting her to do this she spoke not a word or move a muscle.

"I want you to smell this rose, Jinx." The old woman said, walking over to the girl and holding out the rose, "And I want you to smell not only the truth, but be overwhelmed by it."

The young girl looked down at the single red rose held within the old woman's wrinkled hand. She knew, without touching it, that it would die if held in her own small hand. Her mother never told her why she wouldn't let her daughter ever touch her flowers; she died with that secret firmly locked inside her. In that moment the young girl finally decided she was tired of secrets, she was tired of lies from all the people around her. All she wanted was the truth; the truth would set her free.

Without a word the pink-haired, pink-eyed girl leaned forward and took a deep whiff of the rose.

It all invaded her at once. Her father leaving her mother beaten and in tears. The doctors telling her that giving birth to this child would eventually lead to her death. Her mother blaming herself when her brother's children went missing after playing with her daughter. The two of them living in a small, dark house at night where her mother cried herself to sleep while the daughter slept peacefully admits all the dead roses. Her mother working for hours a day to grow the roses to replace the ones her daughter killed every night. The destroyed furniture, the cuts and bruises her mother hid beneath her clothing, all of it hidden beneath the weight of the roses and her mother's smile.

In her mind the girl watched as her mother finally faded away in her bed, the life and energy drained out of her, her flame snuffed out, all because of her.

"It's…it's all my fault…" the young girl chocked out, falling back down on her knees as the tears now streamed out of her face, "I'm the one who killed my mother…I was a curse on her life…I…I…"

The young girl then let out a scream of agony and slammed her fists into the earth. Pink energy suddenly erupted from the ground, cracking the very earth around the women's feet. The young girl did not notice this, so wrapped up in grief was she, but the old woman saw it all and a small smile crept at the edges of her lips as she let the rose fall to the destroyed ground.

**XXXXXX**

**To Be Continued…**

**XXXXXX**

_**I know this one was a little short and did not have as much action as the last but I still hope you enjoyed reading it. The next chapter on Kyd Wykkyd will come out shortly I promise, then its right back to the main plot.**_

_**Thanks again to all my faithful readers and any new ones as well. You all are what keeps this brain train going.**_


	11. Kyd Wykkyd

**The Wicked One**

**Chapter 11: Kyd Wykkyd**

**XXXXXXX**

_You strike and punch and kick and attack_

_But never do you guard or watch your back_

As the sweet voice sung those verses the young boy felt a heavy blow strike him from behind. He spun around only to see his attacker disappear into the shadows, laughter following after him. With a smirk on his face the boy followed after him, fruitlessly trying to see through the pitch blackness.

_When all is black and hope is lost_

_Remember what is gained when sight is the cost_

With a sigh the boy forced himself to stop running. He closed his eyes and took in a few deep breaths.

At first there was only silence but as he stood there, silent and still, a soft padding began to echo in his ears. They were footsteps, soft and careful, but footsteps nonetheless. The boy focused on those steps, it took all his concentration to keep from losing those quiet steps, but as he continued to listen he could hear them growing closer.

And closer…

And closer…

And…

In a whirl of movement the boy spun around, fist held out and instantly he felt it make contact with the hard headed skull of the one sneaking on him. With a surprised gasp the attacker tried to draw back, but he had already made too much noise.

With a smile of triumph on his face the boy leapt into the darkness, his hands easily finding the boy. With a grunt the two bodies fell to the ground and an instant later the lights in the room flashed on.

"Man, your way too good at this kind of thing, I never had a chance." The thin boy said with a smile as he looked up at his friend.

The other boy smiled back down at him before standing up and holding out a hand to the fallen boy. The boy on the ground chuckled before grabbing his hand and standing up as well.

"Very, very good boys, especially you Number 36." A sweet and pleasant voice called down. The two boys looked up to see a tall, extremely beautiful woman walking down a wide expanse of stairs towards them.

"Thank you, Mistress." Number 36 spoke softly before bowing low.

"Kiss-ass." His friend whispered below his breath, smile still on his face.

"Number 73." The woman said in a voice stern yet intoxicating, "You need to work on your movement; your steps are still far too heavy."

"I was moving as softly as possible! It's not my fault 36 has got the ears of a bat!" Number 73 huffed, folding his arms in defiance. Number 36 felt a warm blush form on his face, he was very sensitive about his abnormally large ears, and 73 knew it.

"Well Number 36 has managed to best you yet again with his 'bat ears' so I suggest you work on acquiring the feet of a mouse before the two of you face off again."

"Yes Mistress." Number 73 replied with a roll of the eyes. Number 36 spared his friend a sympathetic smile before letting his eyes trail off to look back at their Mistress. He quickly and subconsciously felt himself tracing the curves of her hips to the smooth lines of her slender face. He immediately averted his eyes when she looked over at him.

"The two of you have done very well over the past year. I was not mistaken in choosing the both of you to outlast your brothers and sisters, you two have achieved far more than any of them ever could. I am very proud to have had you train under me."

The two boys gave their teacher surprised looks at those last words. In all their months of training they never once heard their Mistress express this much gratitude before. She looked back at them with a smile and a raised eyebrow and they both immediately flinched and bowed low.

"Thank you, Mistress." They both said in unison.

**XXXXXX**

"Do you think 26 is still waiting for me?" Number 73 asked out loud as they both lay in their cots in the small dark room.

"Yes." Number 36 responded with certainty, glancing over at his friend in the dark. It had been several months since their trio had been broken up but 73 never stopped talking about her. Number 36 knew if she had even a fraction of the affection of him that he had for her that she would wait.

"Could you imagine her reaction if she knew that _we_ were the last two left?" 73 continued with a chuckle, 36 smiled at that. Number 26 had always went on that they spent too much time goofing off instead of training, that they should try to be more like her. Now look where they were. 26 was one of the first to be let go while one of the two 'goofoffs' were destined to be the Mistress's apprentice.

"I'll be sure to say hi for you when I see her again." Number 73 said, laughter gone now, and 36 knew he was looking at him through the darkness to.

"The tests aren't over yet." 36 assured his friend, 73 laughed at this but it was a laugh that sounded empty and dry.

"Don't try to delude me." 73 replied, his voice serious, "We both know you are way better at combat and…thinking than me, plus the Mistress always has her eyes on you. Don't think you're the only one who has noticed."

"I…"

"Look, don't sweat it." Number 72 said and this time there was a smile in his voice, "I don't mind losing if it means losing to you. And besides, when it's all said and done I get to leave this place and be with 26 again. She seems like a city person, don't you think? I'll have to check every city out there until I find her!"

Number 36 smiled to himself as his friend went on about 26. He remembered back when they all first met. He and 72 both immediately fell in love with 26 and were always bickering and fighting over her. He would always win but then always found himself unable to talk with her properly, every time his eyes met with hers his throat always seemed to close up or his tongue became too dry. He also couldn't help but notice that every time 72 had a chance to talk to her 26 seemed to smile and laugh more than he could ever make her.

So one day 36 approached 72 in the cafeteria, where the 98 other teens could see them, and openly and uncharacteristically challenged him to one final fight for 26's heart. Number 72 immediately accepted and, to everyone's surprise, took out 36 in less than a minute. Through all of the shouts and cries of confusion and amazement the two enemies looked each other in the eyes and in that instant both understood as smiles spread on both their faces.

Number 36's current smile remained on his face as he began to fall asleep, Number 72 still going on about he was going to hunt down 26. He was going to miss him even more than he missed her.

**XXXXXXX **

_I am here for you and only you_

_I love you, I want you, I need you_

_You are my shadow, my darkness_

_My tool and my weapon_

_While others withered and died, I've allowed you to ripen _

_Into my own special flower, so twisted and dark_

_A hand crafted knife, so slim and so sharp_

_You are my own, my one and only_

_I have given you the weapon and target_

_All you must do is know how to stick it_

_Into the flesh of the only one left_

_And then you will be my own, my shadow, my Kid Wicked._

The boy awoke with a gasp and in a cold sweat. Immediately he looked over to his friend to see that 72 was still sleeping. Number 36 wiped a hand over his cold and wet forehead. These dreams kept happening, strange and rhyming, and they filled him with a certain dread, even though he did not know why.

After his breathing finally started to settle down Number 36 finally lay back down on his cot. He wouldn't fall back asleep that night, he never did.

**XXXXXX**

"Today will be the last of your training." The Mistress told them as soon as she stepped down those expansive steps and immediately the two boys woke up completely, even 36.

"You can't be serious!" Number 72 exclaimed, his face awash with amazement, "It can't have been a whole year already!"

"Oh but it can, and it has." The Mistress continued, a smile gracing her beautiful face, "And you two have but one final test to prove yourselves worthy to be my apprentices."

"Wait, wait…" 72 spoke again, this time he and 36 exchanged looks, "…did you say both? As in two?"

"Yes…"

"As in…we can both be your apprentices?"

"Potentially, yes."

For the first time that day Number 36 felt himself smile as he looked over at his friend. Number 72 smiled back, but not as immediately as 36 would have expected.

"Now…as for your final test…"

The Mistress then pulled from the snug black robe she was wearing two cloaks, both the same midnight black as her attire.

"I'm sure the two of you have wondered, just like the 98 other recruits, and the thousands of other people who know of my exploits, how I have managed to infiltrate, steal, assassinate, and so many more things without being caught. How I manage to slip through the strongest of security with ease, how I can kill a man with 100 guards and none of them witnessing the death, or how I plucked up 100 troubled and disturbed teenagers right underneath their parent's noses."

Number 36 and 72 then shifted their gazes from the Mistress's face to the two cloaks she held in her hands.

"Here is your answer, boys. The result of 20 years of my own research and thievery."

"What…what are they?" Number 72 asked as he eyed the cloaks warily.

"As you can see, they are capes." The Mistress said with a smile before handing them towards the two boys, "Each of you take one."

The two recruits grabbed the capes, thought 72 did so only after 36 had, with careful, gentle hands.

"You don't need to worry about tearing them." The Mistress said in an amused tone as she watched them, "They make look fragile but I assure you that neither bullet nor fire will be able to pierce them."

"Amazing!" Number 72 breathed as he felt the fabric between his fingers. Number 36 did so as well, the black cape felt just like any other sort of fabric, he found it hard to imagine something so soft could be so deadly. Number 36 then looked up at the Mistress, subconsciously tracing her smooth and firm curves beneath the robe.

Then again…

"Go ahead and strap them on. You will need a clasp to keep them in place…"

Reaching back into her robe the Mistress pulled out two small, circular, metallic looking objects. Handing those to the recruits as well.

"What's this symbol on them?" Number 72 asked as he and 32 clasped them on the cloak around their necks.

"It's a cat's eye." The Mistress said with a shrug, "Just a symbol I used back in my more youthful days."

Once they had their capes on and secured Number 36 couldn't help but feel a little silly. He knew going into this that he would potentially end up fighting some of those costume nut job heroes out there but he never expected that he would have to look like one.

"Do these things actually have hoods to?" 72 asked out loud as he pulled his over his head. Number 36 had to stifle a laugh. The hood made him look like he had cat ears with the two pointed flaps that were on either side.

"What's so funny?" Number 72 asked as he felt the hood, quickly finding the flaps, "Is it torn or something?"

"They are…ears you could say that I personally fitted on these two cloaks. They may look a little silly but they enhance your hearing by nearly 10 fold if you concentrate enough."

"C'mon 36, let's see what it looks like on you!" 72 dared, noticing 36's failure to hold back an amused smile.

Reluctantly Number 36 did so, 72 did not hold back his laughter nearly as well as his friend did.

"Forgive me, Number 36." The Mistress said with an endearing smile, "I had to make yours slightly bigger to compensate for the natural size of your ears."

36 felt a warm blush begin to bloom on his face as 72 tried to stifle another laugh.

"Well, now that you both have become quite suited to your cloaks let's say we give them a test run."

"A test run?" 72 asked after he finally managed to control his laughter, "You mean to test the hearing thing?"

"No, no," the Mistress said with a knowing smile, "you see I have yet to mention what truly makes these cloaks so special, but I fear words fall short to what actions can prove. Now if you both will be so kind as to follow me to the roof…"

**XXXXXX**

Number 36 and 72 squinted as the trio stepped onto the roof of the large warehouse. It had been almost a month since the last time they had been outside, and even then they had spent most of their time within another building as they attempted to steal the valuables within.

"What I am about to show you is something that you should only do when you have no other options." The Mistress told them as they stood there, the wind billowing the two boy's cloaks around their thin bodies. "It is the ultimate utility of these cloaks and is to be used with extreme caution."

As she spoke she continued to walk backwards, towards the edge of the roof until finally she was only one step from falling. The two boys looked on in wonder, though Number 36 grew slightly nervous to see his Mistress so close to falling.

"Do I make myself clear, boys?" She asked, giving them a stern look. The two recruits instantly nodded their heads, the Mistress smiled. "Good."

Then, with a quick movement, the Mistress pulled her robe from her body, revealing very tight, leather skinned clothing beneath with her own cloak flapping in the wind behind her. Her smile widened as the two boys continued to stare in amazement.

"See you on the other side."

And with that their Mistress fell backwards from the roof. Number 36 and 72 immediately let out cries of shock and horror and quickly ran to the edge of the roof.

"Where did she go!" 72 asked out loud as the two of them peered downwards, seeing nothing but the trees and the grass that surrounded the warehouse, "I don't see her anywhere!"

Number 36 only continued to scan everywhere that he could see below them, panic quickly starting to take over, when he heard a soft clearing of the throat somewhere behind him. Very slowly Number 36 turned to see the Mistress, standing just where he and 72 had been seconds ago, smile still on her face.

"And what are you two looking for way over there?"

At the sound of her voice Number 72 immediately spun around, face white and eyes bulging.

"But you…I…saw you…fall…off…roof…"

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" The Mistress asked as she cupped a hand to her ear, "You look like you have just seen a ghost, speak up!"

"We just watched you fall off the roof!" Number 72 blurted out, pointing an accusing finger at her, "How did you fall from there but then manage to end up behind us!"

"Isn't it obvious?" The Mistress asked, her smile growing wider. Number 72 and 36 shared a look before looking back at her and, both still wide-eyed, they shook their heads. The Mistress laughed a cool, airy laugh before looking them dead in the eyes and said:

"I teleported."

"You…teleported." Number 72 repeated, looking at the Mistress like he was expecting her to suddenly change her mind. Number 36 couldn't but look at her in the same way.

"Yes." She simply replied, staring at them still.

"…How?"

"Like this." And, in a split second the Mistress pulled the cloak around her and disappeared from sight. Number 72 let out another surprised yelp, before turning to his friend.

"36, please tell me you just saw-." But Number 72 was cut off when his eyes fell on the Mistress, standing right behind 36, and letting out a third cry he jumped back several feet.

Very slowly Number 36 turned around to see the Mistress standing there, looking at him with a quizzical smile.

"You believe it now?"

Number 36 slowly nodded, face still full of wonder and amazement. When she looked over at Number 72 he looked back with wide bug eyes, face still as white as chalk.

"I'll just take that look as another yes." She said with another airy laugh. "Would either of you like to give it a try next?"

The two boys remained silent for a long time as she looked between them. Finally Number 72 let out a feeble attempt at a cough.

"I'd be more than happy to, but not before Number 36 tries it first."

Number 36 shot his friend a dirty look before feeling a gentle hand on his shoulder. He looked over at the Mistress to see her giving him her sweetest of smiles, already he could feel a blush forming.

"It's really as simple as it looks," she spoke in a soft, patient voice, "Simply think of where you want to be, another part of this roof for instance, and pull the cloak around your body, before you know it you will be there."

Number 36 simply nodded and the Mistress stepped away from him. He stood there for several minutes, thinking of where he wanted to be, but found that simply gripping the cloak was proving more of a daunting task than it seemed.

"Don't be afraid of the power." He heard his master call to him as the stood there, "It may seem strange and…creepy at first, but use it enough times, get to know it, and you may find out that you actually like it."

Number 36 looked over at her and found that the Mistress was smiling at him again. He quickly averted his eyes and face before she could see him blush again. Was she talking more of the cloak…or him?

With a deep sigh, Number 36 grabbed the hem of the cape and without anymore hesitation he pulled it around his body. A sensation of extreme darkness and cold was all he had time to notice before he was back out into the world, colliding with a body soft and warm. He heard her let out a small exclamation of surprise, immediately he heard 72's laughter assault his ears.

"I did not know you desired to be so close." The Mistress said softly, looking down at 36 as he felt himself pressed against her, his head buried between her…

"I'm sorry!" Number 36 immediately apologized, literally jumping away from her, "I did not mean to…"

"It's quite alright, it is hard to control _exactly_ where you want to go the first few times." she said with a forgiving smile. Number 36 merely nodded, keeping his eyes fixed to the ground, he could still here his friend snickering.

"Number 72." Mistress called in a pleasant voice, immediately the snickering stopped, "now that you see Number 36 has teleported and come back just fine, perhaps you are more comfortable with trying it yourself?"

"Uhh…" 72 replied, looking just as uncomfortable as Number 36 did now.

"Try it." Number 36 encouraged with a soft smile, "It's not so bad, just cold."

Number 72 looked back in silence for a moment before finally breaking out into a smile of his own.

"Yeah, ok, if 36 can do it then so can I, no problem!"

"Good." The Mistress said, "Now, just think of a spot on this roof you would like to teleport to and pull the cape around you, simple yes?"

"Yeah, simple…" Number 72 breathed, closing his eyes he immediately looked to be in deep concentration. After a few minutes his eyes snapped open and his eyes met Number 36's. The two friends shared a look for only a second before 72 smiled and, gripping his cape, he pulled it around him and vanished.

The seconds ticked away very slowly. Time went by even slower as they became minutes. Number 36 looked all around the roof but his friend did not appear. Glancing over at the Mistress he noticed that she was still staring at the spot that 72 disappeared from, arms folded and smile gone. When it began to feel like they had been up there for hours the Mistress let out a sigh.

"Number 36," she began, turning to face him, "have you-."

But she was cut off as a figure suddenly appeared between them.

"72!" Number 36 called out as he began to approach his friend, but felt himself come to a halt when his eyes caught a glimpse of his friend's face. In that moment it looked more miserable than 36 had ever remembered seeing it look before, but as soon as that look was there it vanished beneath a wide smile as Number 72 stood up straight and looked at his friend.

"I did it!" He exclaimed, laughing lightly. Number 36 forced himself to smile back.

"So you did." The Mistress spoke, arms still folded, "And you took a bit longer than expected."

"Oh yeah, sorry about that." Number 72 quickly replied, turning to face her, rubbing the back of his head, "I think I teleported to the wrong rooftop or something."

"I see…" the Mistress spoke, looking at 72 square in the face, the two of them looked at each other like that for several seconds before she broke out into a smile, "well then, I think that's enough training. Get a good night's rest boys, tomorrow one, or even both, of you become my apprentices."

The two boys shared a slightly surprised look at such a short training session but after seeing the raised eyebrow of their Mistress they immediately got back in line.

"Yes, Mistress." The two boys said in unison, bowing low.

**XXXXXXX**

_You alone will rule all_

_While the world around you crumbles and falls_

_Your power and strength will have no foe_

_But the demon will take you, and you will know_

_As you watch yourself twist and change_

_And the world around you finds it strange_

_Too late will they find that you need to die_

_For it will be when they burn and fry._

Number 36 awoke with a terrified cry. It was the first time a dream had affected him in such a way and he remained sitting up in his bed for a few seconds taking in deep breaths as he felt the cold sweat trickle down his forehead.

It wasn't long that he sat in the darkness that he realized that his scream should have woken up 72, he was always a light sleeper. He looked over to 72's bed and wasn't surprised to see that he was not sleeping there. 36 looked around the small room but, still unsurprising, there was no 72. With a sigh 36 lay back down in bed, maybe his friend stepped out to use the bathroom…although there was a small bathroom connected to their bedroom…and he wasn't in it.

He wouldn't choose this night of all nights to stay up late, even if he was so sure he was not going to be chosen. What if he left? Number 36's heart began to race. He wouldn't leave without saying good-bye, would he? No, they were too close, he couldn't do that, he just couldn't.

So Number 36 continued to lay there. But as the minutes dragged on he began to feel the sense of dread sink lower and lower. After almost 30 minutes of waiting 36 couldn't take it anymore, rising from his cot he began slipping on his black and gray combat clothes, they were a bit tight, but Mistress always insisted they weren't like superhero's spandex.

Number 36 had just fitted on his boots when he heard the crack of a whip, and a horrid scream follow soon after. 36 felt a chill run down his spine, the yell was definitely male.

"Number 72!" He shouted, running through the doorway. He ran through all the hallways, all of the expansive rooms, calling out his friends name and doing his best to keep the shout in his head, where it had come from, how deadly it sounded.

After running for a few minutes 36 was starting to believe he lost the sound until a faint noise began calling in his ears. He immediately stopped moving, doing his best to focus on the noise through his heavy breathing. The deeper he concentrated the louder the noise seemed to get, he pushed back his breathing, the creaking noises of the old warehouse, and in that almost silence he could hear the sounds of soft moaning.

Number 36 looked to where the noise was coming from and saw a single door was standing in his way. Immediately he knew where he was, his searching had taken him to almost the very top of the warehouse, he found himself standing before the door that would take him the rest of the way. The door leading to the roof.

With a single deep breath, 36 ran through the door. Standing on the roof, heavy wind screaming in his ears, blinding darkness assaulting his eyes, he could no longer hear the moaning, or see the person calling out.

"72!" Number 36 screamed against the wind, "Number 72, are you out here!"

At first there was no reply, and as 36 stared into the darkness only the howling wind answered his call. With another calming breath Number 36 began walking through the darkness. He didn't want 72 to be here, he didn't want him to be here and in pain. He couldn't be here, he just couldn't.

"Number 72!" 36 called into the growing storm. He was growing desperate; he couldn't keep searching through pitch darkness on top of a building, but if 72 was up here…

"Please! Number 72! Are you here!"

Still no answer, just the wind and the storm.

"NUMBER 72!" The boy shouted louder than he ever shouted before. He felt his throat strain with the effort. He shut his eyes and clenched his fists in frustration. He was about to turn around, he was about to find his way back inside and keep searching the rest of the building. But as he had his eyes closed all of the noises of the storm slowly began to fade away.

First the thunder…then the howling wind…then the light sounds of the rain…and finally…

"Number 36…"

It was a moan, a plea of help, so soft and so weak 36 had almost missed it. The boy ran as soon as his eyes flashed open, rain beginning to pelt his face. As his eyes finally began to adjust more to the night he saw a dark shape lying on the ground, growing ever closer as he ran towards it.

"Number 72!" 36 exclaimed as he fell to the ground beside his fallen friend. Number 72 was shirtless as he lay in the rain and as 36 touched his back he could feel a number of cuts etched deep and bleeding into him.

"Took you long enough." 72 said, and although his voice was full of pain there was also a hint of an amused smile.

"Who did this to you?" Number 36 asked, his voice growing shaky, his eyes began to hurt to keep back the sudden tears, "Who!"

"The…Mistress…"

All at once the entire world seemed to turn off. The coldness of the storm was nothing compared to the sinking feeling that dropped deep inside of him.

"No…no! You're lying, it couldn't have been…it couldn't have been the…the…"

"Mistress?" A sweet and sultry voice asked. And before 36 could turn around a tight and constraining force wrapped its way painfully around his neck and pulled him into the air. Number 36 let out a painful gasp as he was slammed back down.

"Oh Number 36, why did you have to be a little hero?" The sweet voice continued as Number 36 gripped the whip tied around his throat, trying fruitlessly to pull it off, "You should not be here, this is between 72 and myself."

"Why, Mistress?" Number 36 asked the tall shadowed figure that held the whip, his voice pleading, desperate, "Why are you doing this to 72? What did he do?"

"He tried to escape me. He tried to escape his fate."

Number 36 looked from the shadowed figure holding the whip to the other figure lying on the ground.

"She's right, Number 36; I did try to run away."

"But…why?" 36 now pleaded with his friend, "You didn't…you didn't even say good-bye…"

To his surprise Number 72 laughed a genuine laugh. It never felt more out of place.

"I'm sorry, 36, that was just the last thing I expected, I didn't know you cared." Number 72 then let out a sad sigh and 36 knew he was now looking at him through the darkness, "Earlier today, when I teleported on the roof, I didn't teleport to a different roof…I…I teleported to Number 26."

Number 36's throat seemed to dry up almost instantly, he didn't even feel the burn of the whip around his neck anymore. 72 went to see 26…so why did he sound so sad?

"Number 72-."

"She didn't wait for me!" Number 72 burst out, his voice suddenly wracked with tears and misery, "I went to where she was, it was a party, at some other warehouse, and I saw her, she was with some guy in stupid colorful spandex, she was with a hero!"

Impossibly Number 36 felt his throat close even tighter. His heart ached for his friend and for the first time in his life he felt the cold tears trickle down his face.

"I waited so long for her!" 72 continued to cry, his voice a mixture of anger and grief, "I- we went through so much to prove her wrong, so that she could see that we were worth something…that _I_ was worth something…"

"72…please…" 36 said through a chocked sob. He didn't know what to say to his only friend, his grief was over whelming.

"…but it's too late." Number 72 said with a tone of finality, "Number 26 forgot about us. Forgot about me. And now…now I've lost everything."

"Regrettably, you are correct." The Mistress broke in, and suddenly the burning vanished as the whip released itself from 36's neck. But Number 36 simply sat there in the rain, consumed by his own grief. He only barely flinched when something dropped to the ground beside him.

"You are the winner. The sole winner, Number 36." The Mistress said evenly, Number 36 could feel her presence as she stood beside him in the dark. "Now wear your mantle and finish your final test."

In a half-hearted movement 36 reached out to his side and almost immediately felt the familiar yet strangely warm and dry fabric that rested on the ground beside him. Confused, Number 36 looked up to where he believed his master's face was.

"Mistress…?"

"Number 72 tried to escape before final judgment." The Mistress stated simply, "He knew the rules going into this, and you both know the consequences for breaking those rules."

"So, what?" Number 72 asked, his sadness suddenly masked with rage, "You're going to have 36 kill me like you killed all the other recruits who failed?"

Lightning struck as soon as 72 had finished speaking, and in that brief flash of light 36 could see the fury and hate in his friend's eyes as he glared at the woman who stood across from him, while the Mistress had a mixed look of shock and anger.

"…how long have you known?" She asked, her tone indicating it was more of a demand than a request.

"As long as 26 knew." Number 72 breathed, and instantly realization sent a deep, cold chill down 36's spine. "That's why she was one of the first ones to fail. She was smarter and tougher than anyone in this place, smart enough to realize what was going on…and apparently tough enough to escape from the likes of you."

"She was nothing but a mouse that scurried away the first chance she got!" The Mistress spat in a tone that was far from her usual, voluptuous voice, "She ran and left you and all the other recruits to die! A woman after my own heart, to be sure. But you are right, she was too smart for her own good, but thankfully she was kind hearted enough to leave behind two perfect, obedient recruits to do as I please...well, almost perfect."

Number 36 then felt a strong hand take hold of his arm and bring him up to his feet. Those same hands gripped the cape and quickly tied it around his neck, securing the buckle with a sharp snap.

"Now, Number 36, sweetie, be a dear and finish with Number 72 for me."

Number 36 stood there, in the cold and the rain, hands clenched at his sides, body shaking from more than just the wind. Lightning flashed once again and he could see his friend still laying on the ground, body beaten and bleeding, his eyes full of pain, regret, sadness, and…fear.

"No."

"I'm sorry…" Mistress asked, and Number 36 could imagine her cupping a hand to her ear, "I didn't quite catch that…what did you just say to me?"

"I said…" 36's hand began to ache as it clenched even tighter, "_**NO!**_"

He then let his fist fly to where the Mistress was standing, only to have the blow connect with nothing but air.

"Ungrateful bastard!" He heard her curse from behind him, but even before he could turn around all the way he felt a powerful kick connect with his side, sending him sliding through the slick ground.

"I gave you _everything_!" The Mistress shouted, and Number 36 let out a cry of agony as he felt her boot ram into his stomach, "I took you away from you drunk and negligent parents, I took revenge on all those children who teased you. I took you into _my_ home; I gave you a second chance, a chance to be something great, something bigger than yourself. And after all that…YOU…DO…NOT…TELL…ME…NO!"

Number 36 cried and coughed out blood as each kick assaulted his body. He began to see red and black fill his already dim vision. He felt inches away from oblivion when a furious cry broke through the storm and his master's accusations.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE YOU BITCH!"

Number 36 heard the Mistress let out a surprised gasp as Number 72 plowed into her. He continued to hear them struggle as he slowly rose from the ground, his body throbbing with pain. He had finally managed to stand up when he heard his friend let out another howl of pain.

"72!" Number 36 shouted into the night, but all he could see was the rain. Instantly he closed his eyes and concentrated on hearing something…anything, he didn't have to wait long.

"Number 36! We're on the edge of the roof!" He heard 72 shout painfully into the storm and instantly, 36 found them.

Number 36 gripped his cloak as he heard 72 let out a final scream as the Mistress dropped him from the roof. Time almost seemed to slow down as 36 pulled the cape around him. He felt his body disappear into blackness even colder and darker than the storm, but just as quickly he reappeared, falling down the warehouse beside 72.

"Grab my hand!" Number 36 called as he reached for where he hoped his friend was.

"36!" He heard 72 call back in a very weak voice. The moment 36's fingers wrapped around his friend's arm he used all his strength to pull him against his body, and then angled his back to hit the ground. He was really hoping his last ditch idea wouldn't kill them both.

Sure enough instead of dying he felt them both sail through his cape and immediately back onto the top of the roof, right where he wanted to be. Dropping his friend, Number 36 leapt into the air and reached out; hoping that choosing a target to teleport to was a good idea. It was.

His Mistress let out a surprised yelp as he tackled into her.

"You can't hold me here!" The Mistress shrieked as she struggled against 36's weight, "I've been teleporting for years; I've been doing this since before you were born!"

"Not…a lot of good…that'll do you…without this…" He heard his friend call out, and even though he wasn't able to see Number 36 knew what he had gripped in his hands, for it was the same thing the Mistress seemed to lack tied around her neck.

"You sneaky little rat!" The Mistress shouted.

"Just like…you taught me…to be…" Number 72 replied with a weak laugh.

"So what are you going to do, huh!" The Mistress shouted as she fought against 36's grip on her arms and legs, "What is a creepy, weirdo, low life going to do to his all powerful Mistress!"

Number 36 felt all other feelings pushed aside as contempt and anger filled him over the woman he used to love. Very slowly he lowered his head so that he could whisper in her ear over the howling wind:

"Get closer."

Then, in a blink of an eye, his cape was suddenly draped over his Mistress's chest and without thought, without feeling, Number 36 dropped his hand through the cloak and into the woman's chest.

His master let out only a single gasp of surprise and pain as Number 36's hand tightened around her heart, then in one simple move the student clenched his fist and his teacher's heart burst in his palm. He slowly removed his hand as the Mistress fell still, the blood that coated his glove dripped unto his exposed cape, though the blood merely vanished as it made contact.

"Number 36…" He head his friend call and immediately 36 stood up and walked over to Number 72, though he was still unable to see him clearly through all the darkness of the storm.

"Come on…" 36 said wearily, grabbing his friend around the shoulders, "let's get you inside."

"36…please…don't bother." 72 spoke as 36 struggled to drag him across the roof, "I'm dying, that bitch had a knife, and she got me with it, pretty close to my heart to."

36 stood there stunned for a moment, before reaching out to his friend, only for his hand to hit the hilt of the knife.

"Ouch! Don't touch it!" Number 72 demanded.

"I'm sorry…" 36 said miserably, though it was sadness conflicted with anger, "…I wasn't _pretty_ _close_ to striking her heart."

Number 72 let out a laugh that was soon followed by a coughing fit and groans of pain.

"I'm glad to hear it." He said, his voice strangely happy and carefree. Number 36 couldn't help but smile sadly in return as he sat down beside his dying friend, already the rain seemed lighter.

"Listen 36, I'm not sad that I'm dying." Number 72 said, smile still in his voice, "My life may have been pathetic and miserable for the most part. But that all changed when I met you…and 26, you guys made it better, you guys made everything worth it again…and please…if you ever see 26 again, say hello and tell her I…tell her…tell her I said hi to."

Number 36 laughed softly and 72 did as well.

"I'll tell her, 72, I'll find her and tell her everything." 36 replied, tears threatening to spill from his eyes again.

"Thanks 36...and do you think you can do me one more favor?"

"Anything, what is it?"

Number 36 felt his breath catch when he felt a gentle hand rest against the side of his face.

"Don't ever change."

Number 36 sat there with 72's hand rested against his face long after the storm had moved on, long after the sun appeared in the sky, and long after his closest and only friend passed away from this world.

**XXXXXXX**

**To Be Continued…**


	12. LiftOff

**The Wicked One**

**Chapter 12: Lift-Off**

**XXXXXXX**

Robin's motorcycle tore through the streets of Jump city, speedily interweaving between all of the car's and frightened people. The driver's masked eyes constantly switched from his surroundings to the radar that was integrated with his bike. He gripped the handle bars even tighter as he continued the search.

It had been almost two weeks since Beastboy had gone missing, and almost a week since Jinx and Kid Flash vanished. After several heated arguments he finally allowed Cyborg to call in Titan's East for assistance in the search, though it would still be several more days before they would arrive, and Robin couldn't help but feel that they were already too late, not that he would dare voicing his beliefs to the rest of his team.

Cyborg already wouldn't talk to him anymore unless they were arguing. Robin let it slide simply because he knew his friend was more angry with himself then he was at his leader, more than once Robin had accused Cyborg of being the one who let Beastboy get taken away only to regret it an instant later. The girls were taking it all slightly better besides the fact that Raven spent almost every day locked up in her room now and Starfire's smiles came a lot less frequently with next to no brightness to them.

As Robin continued to search he forced himself to push back his own worries. He had to get Beastboy back, not just for himself but for the rest of his family.

"Starfire, any sign of Beastboy and the others?" Robin asked, slowing down slightly so he could pull out his communicator.

"I fear not, Robin, I have searched the entirety of the city and there is no sign of friend Beastboy, Jinx, or Kid Flash." Starfire immediately replied, and Robin couldn't help but note the tone of panic in the back of her voice.

"Can you check with Cyborg and see if Raven has come out of her room yet?"

"I had just done so moments before you called, Cyborg says that Raven will not even answer when he knocks on her door or calls her. Oh Robin! What if Raven has been stolen from us as well!"

"Raven hasn't been stolen, Starfire." Robin quickly assured, gritting his teeth at the sound of his girlfriend's distress, "She just isn't handling this very well…"

"I fear I am not handling this very well either." Starfire replied solemnly.

"I know Starfire, I don't think I am either."

"Robin. Starfire." Cyborg cut in, his face replacing Starfire's on Robin's communicator, his expression matched his voice. Full of seriousness and concern. "I need you both to come back to the tower. Beastboy, Jinx, and Kid Flash are here, and they brought friends."

"What's that supposed to mean!" Robin retorted, the relieved feeling vanishing almost immediately as Cyborg's face remained cold.

"Just hurry back."

Cyborg's face then vanished revealing a very troubled looking Starfire.

"Robin…"

"I'll see you there Starfire." Robin replied before shutting off his communicator.

**XXXXXXX**

Robin and Starfire reached their beloved island in a matter of minutes, mostly spurred on by the Tameranian's joyfulness masked over by anticipation. Even before they landed they could see the small group of people standing before the Titan's Tower while Cyborg stood right outside the entrance, facing them.

"Land us right behind them." Robin spoke to Starfire, his girlfriend only nodded in response, her emerald eyes focused on the small group.

"They have Beastboy and our friends…" She breathed, panic at the edge of her voice.

"It's ok Starfire, we'll get them back." Robin assured as Starfire placed him and his motorcycle on the ground.

"Well well, the Titan's brave leader arrives at last, and he brought my dearest sister with him." A voice strangely familiar yet robotic welcomed the two.

"Blackfire!" Starfire exclaimed, peering into the small group, "I hear you but I do not see you!"

"Yes, it is I, sister." A large, black, and round android with a glowing red lens announced as it floated from the group to stand before the two Titans, "Blackfire, though sadly not in the flesh."

"I am confused, why has my sister been transformed into a floating robot?"

"A minor set-back, one that is soon to be rectified."

"Blackfire, we are only going to warn you once, release Beastboy and the others, before we make you release them." Robin swore as his eyes scanned the group. He recognized a few, like Red-X and See-More but while he knew he had seen the two draped in black before he couldn't place exactly where. But his thoughts and focus were held when his eyes fell upon Beastboy, Kid Flash and Jinx. They simply stood there, backs to him, motionless and calm.

"Oh Robin, as bold and heroic as always. And here I was hoping you had grown up a little as well." The robot laughed before the red lens fixed completely on him, "But as for releasing your friends…I'm afraid they do not want to be released."

The black android then turned to the taller of the two dressed in black who simply nodded before a thundering force of red and yellow blurs collided with Robin. The Titan's leader let out a shock of surprise as he flew through the air, he could hear Starfire call out to him until she was quickly cut off by a surprised yell of her own.

With the grace of an acrobat Robin made sure he landed on his hands so he could flip himself back to his feet. Though no sooner had he done so then another powerful blow struck him in the back, effectively knocking the wind out of him. The Boy Wonder hit the ground with gasping coughs, he tried reaching for something useful in his belt only to feel a gush of wind one second and feeling the emptiness of all the pouches on his utility belt the next. Feeling a sudden sense of fear Robin looked up to see Starfire wrestling with a very large, green boa constrictor as it wrapped around her body. Robin knew that Starfire could force her way out of its grasp, but he also knew that she wouldn't do it if it was going to hurt Beastboy.

"Starfire…hold on." Robin breathed, trying to push himself up only to have a boot fall against his back and keep him against the ground. With a groan of pain Robin looked up past his shoulder to see Kid Flash standing over him, face expressionless and eyes red and glowing.

"What have you done to Beastboy and Kid Flash! Answer me!" Robin heard Cyborg cry out. He looked over to see his fried pointing his cannon at the taller man in black.

"The same thing I did to Jinx. I am in control of their minds, they do as I say." The man replied in a stoic voice.

"Why are you doing this Fixit? You're supposed to be on our side, you're supposed to be one of the good guys!" Cyborg demanded, his human eye full of fury and confusion.

"I am on no one's _side_." Fixit replied with a hint of anger, and suddenly Robin remembered, he remembered the man who kidnapped Cyborg and tried to _fix _the human part of him, until he was shown the goodness of humanity, until the Teen Titan's fixed his ways… "I am only looking after myself. That is what you truly taught me when you left me to fend for myself in the real world, that is what I was left with when I was shunned from humanity…again."

"Fixit…I swear I didn't know…" Cyborg insisted, lowering his arm slightly, "If you just let our friends go I promise we will take care of you…we can help-."

"No." Fixit responded, gripping Jinx by the hair and holding her up before the Titan. "I do not want any more _help _from a Titan. What I was is your ship, I want to free Blackfire, and I want to see you suffer for what you did to me."

Fixit then threw Jinx towards Cyborg who immediately let out an array of pink whips of energy, with a cry of fury Cyborg shot out a blast from his arm. Two forces collided in a powerful explosion before Robin heard his friend let out a cry of pain. As the smoke cleared the Boy Wonder watched as the metal man stood there in shock for a moment before both his arms exploded from their sockets.

"Run into a little…bad luck?" Jinx teased in a half Jinx-half Fixit voice as she walked up behind him and sent a kick into the side of his head, bringing the half-teen half-robot down.

"CYBORG!" Robin cried out, struggling under Kid Flash's foot and in a fit of rage he grabbed the teen's ankle and twisted his own body so he ended up on top of the speedster.

"Snap out of it Kid Flash!" Robin screamed into his blank face. Kid Flash merely looked up at Robin for a moment before beginning to vibrate at immediate and incredible speeds, before the Boy Wonder knew it he was on his feet screaming in pain as his palms burned from the friction. And before he even had time to recover he felt another whoosh of air and he was back on the ground, bound in a very tight rope around his torso and ankles. Immediately he tried activating the knife on his glove, only to find both gloves missing.

"Looking for these?" Kid Flash taunted with a mixture of Fixit's voice as he waved Robin's gloves at him, his half smile twisted into a sneer.

"Beastboy, please release me!" Starfire pleaded with the snake wrapping around her, "Robin and I are your friends! Cyborg is your friend, please stop this!"

"I'm afraid Beastboy can't hear you, my dearest sister." Blackfire informed as the robot floated towards the two wrestling Titans, "Or as far as Fixit is concerned, he doesn't want to hear you. I guess you will just have to…hurt him a little if you wish to free yourself."

"I will never!" Starfire cried back.

"I see." Her sister said with a sigh, "You haven't grown much either."

"Kyd Wykkyd, Red-X, check the Tower, there is still one more Titan that we need to deal wi-."

"You will release my friends. Now." Raven hissed as she slowly floated down from the tower, her eyes glaring dangerously at the small group.

"Ah. Speak of the devil." Blackfire spoke with a laugh, "Boys be sure not to let her finish her mantra, I assure you nothing good will come of it."

"Azeroth, Metrion, Zin-."

"Now!" Blackfire yelled, and while See-More already had his hand on his dial he wasn't as fast as his cloaked companions.

"I got it!" Red-X called as soon as Kyd Wykkyd had vanished, and pointing his palm at the sorceress he fired out a giant red X…right before Kyd Wykkyd reappeared directlyt in front of Raven. The red X connected perfectly with his back, sending him into Raven and sending them both into the ground as the X twisted around them.

"Whoops…" The thief muttered.

"Kyd Wykkyd!" See-More cried out as he raced towards the fallen figures, "Are you okay…?"

But See-More's question trailed off as he slowly began to realize what his eye was showing him. Kyd Wykkyd was pressed firmly against Raven, from their feet up to their…

"No matter how hard it may be…do not release your lips from hers." Blackfire warned, attempting a serious voice though the smile behind it was far from hidden. See-More and Red-X did their best to hide their growing laughter with little avail.

Kyd Wykkyd shot them his scariest look but after Raven quickly got over her surprise her look became even scarier as she attempted to use what little room she had to free herself from the kiss. Kyd Wykkyd immediately reacted and pushed himself further against her, wincing slightly as their kiss became even deeper.

"This almost seems wrong to watch." Red-X commented, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I knew Kyd Wykkyd's first kiss was gonna be painful, but I didn't think it would be _this_ bad!" See-More cried out and the two burst into laughter, placing an arm around each other's shoulders as if they had been the best of friends for years.

Kyd Wykkyd shot them another glare while doing his best to avoid Raven's increasingly reddening eyes.

"I do not mean to interrupt." Fixit spoke, suddenly behind the two laughing teens who let out their own cries of surprise, "But the Titans are properly subdued now, I believe it is time we make our way to the ship."

"Agreed." Blackfire replied with a nod of the android, "Have our captives keep their captives well occupied. Kyd Wykkyd…we'll be back when the ship is ready to go."

Kyd Wykkyd's look of surprise quickly changed to one of pleading. Red-X and See-More quickly began snickering again.

"Don't run off and get married while we're gone." Red-X taunted as they walked into the tower, See-More's laughter following soon after.

**XXXXXX**

This was worse than anything I had ever experienced before. Worse than all of those boring classes at H.I.V.E Academy, worse than always getting caught by the police, worse than bursting the heart of Cat Woman, and pretty much as bad as watching my best friend die.

It was a battle I was never trained to fight. I thought I had been twisted enough, been changed enough to not have these kinds of problems anymore. But I was wrong…I was so so wrong.

It was just a stupid teenage girl, a stupid _Titan _for that matter. I was just doing this to keep her mouth shut, to keep her from using those dark powers from tearing us all to shreds. But here I was, body pressed so firmly against her soft one…lips fitted so perfectly against hers…

Stop it!

Stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it!

All I had to do was open my eyes and see those four red demon eyes glaring into me to know exactly what I was dealing with. But those eyes were scary, and it was very unsettling to look into them for too long, but when I closed my eyes all I could do was _feel_.

Oh god.

My poor neglected hormones had it out for me now, I knew they did. Not kissing any one, not hugging or barely touching anyone for years, I thought I was above it, I thought I didn't need it. I thought killing my own teacher and seeing my best friend die was enough to no longer want such…stupid things anymore. I should have let it twist me more, there was still so much humanity left in me…even after all those years…

But it was building now…all of those sexually repressed years…all that time ignoring the look and feel of a woman…I could feel it slowly rising…slowly beginning to take form. I pleaded to whoever would listen to me…please…don't let her feel me…

_You're Kyd Wykkyd._

It was a thought, but not my own thought, that echoed in my head. For a split moment I believed that Fixit was trying to talk to me, but the voice was far too feminine…

…_Raven?_

_You catch on quick._

My heart began to beat even more rapidly in my chest. I slowly dared to open my eyes to see two large purple ovals replace the four red eyes.

_What is this? Why are you in my head?_

_Because, despite my desire to kill you I'm afraid I can't do anything while in this state. So, I thought I might talk to the villain who stole away my first kiss._

I instantly felt an embarrassed blush that I quickly forced away. This was a Titan, a sworn enemy; it was merely my erratic hormones that were making me feel any sort of sympathy towards this person.

_Believe me this was not my intention. Nor my desire._

_Gee thanks, I'm so relived now. _

We lay there glaring at each other for a few moments before I finally gave in and let out a sigh through my nose and closed my eyes.

_Your breath stinks._

Immediately my eyes flew open again and renewed the glare.

_Well yours tastes like 3 day old herbal tea._

_Oh don't even get me started about the taste of your breath. Ever heard of the toothbrush? It's a pretty useful tool, even for a low life creep like you._

I just rolled my eyes before forcing them shut once again. She was just trying to get under my skin and I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction. Thankfully all the arguing helped with…other areas of my body. Though the longer we laid there in silence the more I felt myself having to battle with certain desires…like sticking my tongue in her mouth for one…

_Why is your skin gray? _

Her word's echoed in my head even before I could decide what to say to keep the conversation going. I hoped it would lead to more insulting.

_Would you like me to say it's because I'm a creepy shut in like you?_

_And how would you even know that I'm a shut-in in the first place?_

…_Because you have gray skin?_

_No. I'm half-demon if you must know._

_Being half-demon makes you have gray skin?_

_That and…being a shut-in._

I found it very hard not to smile at that point and quickly bit my tongue to wake myself up…unfortunately I bit it a little too hard.

_What's that?_

_ …what's what?_

_ Don't play dumb, I taste something, something besides your rancid breath…what did you do?_

_ I, er, bit my tongue._

_ Why?_

_ …it was an accident._

_ …so what I'm tasting is…_

_ Blood._

I watched as those two purple eyes widened in surprise and before I could even form another thought I felt Raven's tongue plunge through my lips. I felt myself become 100 pounds lighter and the breath taken from my lungs as her tongue explored my mouth. Subconsciously I felt my tongue press against hers and before long the two were wrestling with each other for control.

All the words, all the walls, everything I did to try to keep away the desires were suddenly pushed away as our kiss deepened. My heart stopped beating for a moment when I heard a soft moan escape from her mouth and I quickly realized that my desires had risen in more ways than one…

_I would like to thank you._

I opened my eyes to see hers, half open and dreamy, gazing back at me. I could feel her lips form into a soft smile. This time I couldn't help but smile back.

_For what?_

It was then that I noticed that the red X that had us trapped together had turned a lot darker in color…in fact it was almost black…

_For calming me down. _

Then all at once our lips parted as the X shattered around our bodies, I found myself flying from the Titan's body as her soft lips cried out:

"Azeroth, Metrion, Zinthos!"

And I and all my emotions and hormones fell victim to the blackness, the smile still on my face.

**XXXXXX**

**To Be Continued…**


	13. Malchior

**The Wicked One**

**Chapter 13: Malchior**

**XXXXXX**

The Dread Dragon let out a fiery yawn as he dozed on a particularly large mass of floating rock. He could hear his belly rumble and moan with emptiness but he couldn't bring himself to eat more of those white tentacled creatures, they didn't even taste good extra crispy! It wasn't the first time Malchior wished that he had eaten those two humans before they parted ways, at least he could have savored the taste of human flesh one last time before he died.

Malchior wanted to hold on to hope, something he wasn't very used to using and he was finding it a strange feeling to cope with. Ever since the human deemed See-More left through the portal he felt that same strange hope dwindle more and more. He must have been too far into his slumber to have heard him ask for the book. Malchior felt his anger flare up.

Stupid, weak, feeble humans. He must be a fool to have put his trust into one of their kind. When have they ever aided him before? The only reason See-More and the golden fool helped was to use him for their own needs, and now that the child was free he was going to leave the Dread Dragon to rot!

Malchior let out a large breath of enraged flame at that thought, but it didn't last long. The hunger ate away at his own fire and the dragon once again felt himself lying back down against the rock…weak…defeated…never before feeling more like a… human.

**XXXXXX**

"They're ship is at the very bottom level of the tower, the elevator straight down this hallway will take us right to it!" See-More called as the team of evil doers raced through the Tower.

"And what of their security system, where is the main hub located?" Blackfire replied as her android floated speedily beside them, the red alarm lights and sounds blaring all around them.

With expert skill See-More used his x-ray vision to follow the path of the intricate security wires beneath the walls around them. He quickly pinpointed the ones they needed and followed them all the way to their origin…

"It's in one of the Titan's bedrooms…Cyborg's by the looks of it."

"Red-X."

"I'm on it." Red-X replied with an overly dramatic sigh before vanishing into thin air. See-More looked to where the teen had vanished and couldn't help but be reminded of Kyd Wykkyd. Despite the hilarious position they had left him in, he couldn't help but feel a tad bit worried for his fellow teammate.

By the time they had reached the elevator the alarms had already been cut. As Blackfire's robot and Fixit stepped into it See-More began to do one final scan of their surroundings, more out of habit than anything else, but when his gaze fell on the insides of a particular room he stopped moving. Not only did his eye freeze, but his entire body. He subconsciously felt his hand gently twist the dial as his vision zoomed in on the room, but not just the room, but the chest…the chest sitting before the bed…but not just the chest either…but the book that lay inside it.

All at once the memories flooded See-More's mind. His imprisonment by the Herald, his alliance with Warp, all of those tentacled creatures, the trumpet, the portal, and the Dread Dragon-.

"Malchior!" See-More cried out and without a moment's pause he began running towards the room, only to run face first into the wall he was looking through.

"And just what are you trying to do exactly?" Blackfire asked quizzically as she and Fixit looked down at See-More as he rubbed his throbbing head.

"I'll be right back." See-More replied as he stood back up, switched his gaze to normal, and beginning to run back down the hall he called back, "There's something I need to take care of!"

"We are leaving when Red-X and Kyd Wykkyd are ready…with or without you!" Blackfire retorted but See-More was hardly listening, his ears rang with the beating of his heart, his breathing coming up short not just because of the running.

He ran through the hallways and up and down stairs, switching between his x-ray and normal vision periodically to keep the room in sight. It did not take long before the panicky thief reached his target. He stood before the door, his small chest heaving from the running, his single eye fixed on the single word carved into the door. _Raven_. See-More chuckled.

"I hope Kyd doesn't mind me sneaking into his girlfriend's room." See-More said to himself, he then walked closer towards the door and watched as it slid open before him.

Peering into it See-More was immediately reminded of Kyd Wykkyd's room, all darkness, no style.

"Those two are more made for each other than I thought." See-More admitted as he switched to his night vision. He peered around at all of the furniture and decorations, shivering slightly at the demonic figures that seemed to stare back at him through the darkness.

Doing his best to ignore them See-More quickly found the chest, large and ominous looking, as he stepped further into the room. With a better view See-More once again switched to x-ray and looked inside the workings of the chest only to find that it didn't have a lock.

"Too easy."

With careful hands the optical thief slowly opened the chest and peered down at the book. With his x-ray vision he could see all the pages beneath the cover, all of the words were written in a strange language but the pictures he could make out very easily, most of them consisted of some white haired boy and the Dread Dragon himself.

"I've almost got you out of there buddy." See-More whispered as he reached his hands in and wrapped his fingers around the edges.

"What are you doing…_in my room_!"

With a surprised jump See-More spun around, only to come face to face with a very naked Raven. Instantly See-More's face grew red as he threw the book into his face, only to find that his vision managed to penetrate its pages as well.

"Sorry, sorry! I just wanted to get this book…" See-More sputtered as his shaky hand turned his vision back to normal, though he didn't remove his hand from the dial. He watched as the Titan's eyes looked down at the book in his hand than back up to him, her face deadly serious.

"That book is not your property." Raven spoke in a dead monotone, "Either return it to me by your own free will or I shall _make_ you return it."

The thief felt a cold shiver run down his spine, he fully believed that this Titan was capable of doing just that but neither of his hands moved, not from the dial and not from the book.

"What did you do with Kyd Wykkyd? He was supposed to have you…trapped."

"I escaped." Raven said simply before raising her arm towards the thief, her eyes growing black, "Now this is the last time I will ask you, return the book."

"My friend is trapped in this book, I gotta free him!" See-More argued, holding the book behind his back now. Raven lowered her arm slightly at this but her eyes never lost the black intensity to them.

"And by friend…do you mean Malchior?"

"Yes-."

See-More didn't get any further before black energy encased his body and threw him against the wall. The thief let out a cry with a mixture of pain and surprise as his hand lost his grip on his dial and the book fell from his other one. Before the thief even had time to regroup the same black energy formed around his hands and he felt an outside power pull them above his head.

"Do you have _any_ idea what you are trying to release into this world!" Raven shot as she walked over to the now trapped thief, one hand still using the power to keep his hands encased she used her free one to reach down and pick up the book.

"I told you! I'm trying to free my friend!" See-More shot back, fighting fruitlessly against his restraints, "Your Titan friend Herald had Malchior, Warp, and I trapped in his weird dimension thing. We worked together to try and bust out but in the end it was Malchior who got me outta there, it is my duty as a fellow criminal to bust him out to!"

"Malchior is not some mere criminal. He is deceptive, manipulative, and incredibly powerful. Whatever he's said, whatever he's done to try and help you was only so he could use you to free himself. He's evil, worse than you or any other villain you've been in contact with, even a petty thief like you should see that if someone like him was released into our world it would not only spell destruction but almost complete annihilation."

See-More stared back into the cold black eyes of his captor as he hung in the air before her. Raven stared back into his single eye and, for a moment, she almost felt like he was suddenly peering into the depths of her soul.

"I don't believe he's all that bad." See-More replied in a serious voice, Raven's eyes widened slightly at his assurance but quickly returned to its cold demeanor.

"Then you are a fool."

"What did he do to you?"

"What?"

"What did Malchior do to you that makes you think so badly of him?"

"He didn't have to do anything for me to know how evil he is!" Raven shot and See-more could immediately feel the pressure on his hands increase uncomfortably, but he didn't let go of the subject, he could see through Raven's walls and darkness, he could see the deep routed betrayal that lay deep in her eyes.

"But he did do something…Raven, he hurt you…he got close and hurt you."

Raven's face blanked and all at once the blackness disappeared from her eyes and from around See-More's hands. The thief dropped lightly to the floor, rubbing his sore wrists, though his eye didn't leave Raven's, who looked at him with a mixture of anger and utter surprise.

"How…how do you know that?"

"I…ah…saw it, your emotions anyways…" See-More replied with a sheepish smirk as he pointed at his eye, "This thing does more than shoot cool lasers!"

Raven's eyes immediately dropped to the floor, her free hand clenching into a fist.

"It doesn't matter." Her fist then rose and immediately the thief was once again thrown against the wall, the black energy pinning him there.

"Malchior is evil, you are evil." Raven continued as the black energy began to consume him, "You fought against us, hurt us, broke into our tower, tried to steal our ship, and tried to release an all powerful dragon. I do not care what your eyes let you see, I am stopping you right here and right now."

"Not today, princess." Red-X whispered.

Raven let out a surprised gasp but even as she turned around Red-X pulled her hood down over her eyes and sent a hard knee into her gut. The Titan immediately fell to her knees gasping for air, Red-X standing over her.

"Oh sorry, I didn't bruise your ribs did I?" The master thief asked, a sneer in his voice. Raven looked back up in him, black once again in her eyes and surrounding her hands, but before she could launch an attack a large green bubble rammed into her. The surprised Titan fell inside of it and landed roughly at the bottom of the orb.

"Let me out of here!" Raven demanded as she stood up. Calling out her mantra the Titan sent black energy against the prison ball, only to have it bounce off and strike her instead.

"Nifty tool you got there See-More." Red-X commented as he poked at the ball.

"Thanks…" See-More replied, switching his gaze back to normal. He looked at his prisoner and she looked back at him, there was now only anger in her eyes.

"Oh, and we've run into a bit of trouble down where the ship is." Red-X announced, throwing a thumb at the trapped Titan in the floating ball, "Apparently not only did our little demoness free herself but she also managed to break the spell that Fixit had on the others. They are trying to break through the doors as we speak, we have security on our side now but it won't hold them off for long. Oh and Kyd Wykkyd is still missing to."

"Then let's take Raven with us. She can tell us what happened with Kyd Wykkyd and we can use her as a hostage so the rest of the Titan's don't try anything." See-More suggested, his single eye trailing to the book that lay trapped beside Raven.

"Couldn't of said it better myself." Red-X replied with a chuckle.

**XXXXXXX**

"Ah, See-More, am I to assume that you being here means you finished with whatever you had to do?" Blackfire asked as the two thieves and their captive walked through the doors into the hangar. See-More only nodded in reply, his eye moving from the floating robot to Fixit as he rapidly keyed at a computer console that was situated near the enormous T-Ship.

"How much longer until that thing is ready to go? I can safely assume were only minutes away from being ambushed by the Titans." Red-X spoke up as soon as they reached the two, his mask turning towards the door they just entered from. "Possibly seconds with Kid Flash."

"I am working as fast as I can." Fixit responded, still typing rapidly on the computer, "I did not expect the ship's security to be so intricate…perhaps I should not have rendered Cyborg incapable of assisting us."

"You did what your emotions wanted you to do, there is no helping that." Blackfire quickly reassured.

"I had thought I was above such things." Fixit spoke in a low monotone.

"Guys we can have a heart to heart discussion later, my security senses are tingling."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"That the Titans are getting close."

"I do not think I can break the code in time. We need a distraction."

"What of Raven? I can guess that you two didn't just plan to bring her a long as a trophy."

"We could try…" See-More spoke up, his memories flashing back to the assault of Kid Flash on their base, "but I don't think any of us would be fast enough to stop that Kid Flash guy."

"Do you have a better idea then, kid?" Red-X asked, arms folded as he looked at the fellow teen. See-More looked back at him and then slowly drifted back to the book that still lay where Raven was. One of Raven's eyes opened as she hovered in her strange meditation, it locked immediately with See-More's.

"Do not even think of using this book." Raven breathed, the book quickly becoming incased in black energy.

"I don't think you're in the position to be giving orders here." Red-X replied as he placed a palm on the orb prison, moment's later red electricity surged through the green bubble and Raven let out a cry of pain as it connected with her body, the black energy quickly dissipated from the book.

"All yours kid." Red-X spoke, removing his hand from the orb. See-More nodded solemnly before reaching out towards the prison and watched as his hand effortlessly slipped through it and reached for the book. As soon as he hand on it Raven's own gray hand gripped his wrist, See-More jumped slightly but the grip was weak. His one eye trailed to the Titan's face, and in her expression he no longer saw anger, only desperation, defeat, and fear.

"Please…See-More…don't use…the book…" Raven pleaded between gasps of air. See-More held her gaze for another moment before shaking off her hand and pulling the book the rest of the way out of the cell.

"Like I said, Malchior is my friend. He freed me so I am going to free him. But if you want someone to blame, blame the girl who betrayed her team and joined yours."

"Well then let's hear it." Blackfire spoke up as See-More turned to face his teammates, "What is your plan? To release this Malchior I am hearing so much of?"

"Yes, he's a dragon, and he hates the Titans. I think he will be a pretty good distraction while we take off in the ship."

"Well then, what are we waiting for? Get with the releasing!" Red-X pressed, his masked face once again drifting to the doors.

"Well…the thing is…I don't exactly know how to release him…"

"You…what?"

"I mean, I think Raven does, it seems she has done it before…" See-More than looked to the Titan who was busy glaring daggers at him as she lay in pain in his cell, "…but I don't think she will be too keen on sharing the secret with us…"

"It matters not." Fixit spoke, stepping up before them, "I will enter her mind and force the information out of her."

"Are you sure that is wise Fixit?" Blackfire asked, the red lens turning to face him, "You told me that your mind control had its limits, you may have been able to control two simpletons and a teenaged girl but how do you think you'd handle against the mind of a half demon?"

"I am not fully mortal either, Blackfire." Fixit responded, his gaze now fixed with Raven as he stepped up before the orb, "My mind is not to be underestimated."

The two then continued to stare at each other for several minutes. Red eyes staring into the deep black ones. After another few seconds Red-X let out a cough before looking back to the doors.

"Fixit, do you think you could hurry this up? Those Titan's will be here any-."

Red-X was cut off however when Fixit suddenly grabbed him by the throat and rammed him against See-More's prison cell.

"You bastard! What are you doing!" Red-X cried out as Fixit kept him pinned there.

"Hey man, let 'im go!" See-More called as he rushed at Fixit, only to have the mechanic's other hand grip him by his face, the grip was surprisingly strong.

"Fixit, I order you to let them go!" Blackfire shot as the black robot floated closer to the struggling trio.

"I am sorry." Fixit responded, an unfamiliar, surprised expression invaded his face as his eyes grew black as night while he continued to stare into the pitch black eyes of Raven, "I could not…"

"Here, let me give you a hand!" Red-X called out as he slammed his palm against the cell, red electricity once again penetrated the cell and Raven let out another agonized cry. Instantly the blackness disappeared from Fixit's eyes and he released his grip on the two teens.

"I did not think her will would still be so strong." Fixit admitted, rubbing the back of his head thoughtfully.

"Yeah, well, did you turn the tables yet?" Red-X asked as he walked over to help See-More up.

"Yes." Fixit responded as he continued to stare at Raven. The sorceress slowly rose to her two feet, her blackened eyes replaced with the familiar luminescent redness. "She is in my control."

A loud bang suddenly rang throughout the expansive room. The two teens jumped in surprise and the group looked over to see that the metallic doors now supported a very prominent dent.

"Quickly, dig through her mind and find out how to summon this dragon, I fear we have run out of time." Blackfire swiftly ordered as the robot moved towards the device. "I will hardwire this android directly to the console, it will sacrifice battery life but it should quickly break through the rest of this security."

"…I found the spell to unleash the dragon." Fixit responded almost at once, another loud bang resounded through the room after he had finished speaking. The mechanic then turned to the one-eyed thief.

"See-More, can you release the cell? Raven must speak the words herself and I need to have physical contact in order to make her do so."

"Yeah hold on." See-More replied as he quickly switched through his eyes, another loud bang made him jump slightly as he landed on his desired sight. They didn't have much longer.

Activating the eye, the prison zoomed towards See-More's eye, Raven falling through it as the orb disappeared behind the thief's lens. As Fixit's hands gripped both sides of Raven's head the doors finally burst open.

"There is no where left to hide!" Robin immediately called out as Starfire, Beastboy, Kid Flash, and Jinx stepped out around him.

"Ah, the Titan's, so good of you all to join us again!" Blackfire called back, just by her tone See-More could tell their leader enjoyed her role almost a little too much, "Sad to say you are just a tad bit too late, isn't that right Raven?."

"You let her go Blackfire!" Robin ordered, pulling a metallic staff from his newly restocked belt.

"Sister please, you do not need to do this!" Starfire pleaded, the green energy glowing dangerously at her hands.

"Oh I know, little sister, but it is just too much fun!"

"Enough of the chatter. Let's finish this." Jinx spoke up, her eyes glowing pink, Kid Flash standing close beside her. See-More's fists clenched as he glared at her, his former leader seemed intent to not look back at him.

"I'll get the kid whose supposedly too fast for us if you want the pink haired girl…that glare says you do."

See-More couldn't help but smile as his hand reached for the dial. "It won't matter in just a few seconds."

"Fixit, if you please. Let's bring our friend out to play." Blackfire suggested as the orb turned to the mechanic.

"As you wish." Fixit responded with a nod, he then held Raven up in the hair, clawed hands on either side of her head and the two sung out in perfect unison:

"_**Hesberek admorinay gostwenthin verbus nex, indobrium bispendruay haransicortis rex!"**_

In an istant a great light ripped open from the book and See-More was forced to drop it as its pages flipped open uncontrollably. The forces of good and evil watched in awe as the pages from the book began to pull themselves free and combine with one another. It only took seconds for the pages to finally fit the image they were after and before everyone's eyes a new teen stood before them, one entirely made of pages with piercing red eyes.

The figure stood perfectly still, almost as if it was just as surprised as everyone else that it was standing there. Slowly it raised its arms and examined them, holding its hands up before its face.

"M-Malchior?" See-More asked hesitantly, taking a step towards the figure. The thief watched as the paper boy jumped slightly at his voice before his arms fell slowly back to his sides. Just as slowly the thing turned its head until its deep red eyes were connected with See-More's single eye.

The two remained locked in that gaze for what seemed like an eternity, and as See-More stared into the eyes of that paper teenager he saw the change that only he could see. He watched as the confusion in Malchior's red eyes shift into true happiness for the first time in a thousand years.

"Thank you…human." Malchior spoke softly before turning to face the Teen Titans. The do-gooders immediately returned to their battle positions but they were still truly unprepared, for they did not see the smile that See-More did.

"_**Puny insignificant insects!" **_The voice of Malchior roared from the body of paper, _**"I have been reborn! Bear witness to my rebirth and tremble beneath the all consuming shadow of Malchior, the Dread Dragon!"**_

Then, without seconds pause, the paper teen burst into a million pieces as a great purple and black monster erupted from his prison and began his second attack against the Titans. His hunger and weakness vanishing entirely as adrenaline gave new life to his fire and his claws.

"The T-Ship is open and ready for the taking." Blackfire announced as the black robot floated over to the two thieves who were watching the battle raging before them with great interest. "Come on boys, there will be plenty of fighting once we reach the prison."

"Can't we just stay for two more minutes? It's like watching a movie!" Red-X pleaded, his eyes still locked on the fight.

"What about Kyd Wykkyd, we can't just leave without him!" See-More pointed out, turning to face the robot, but before Blackfire could reply a speeding blur of yellow and red flew past them and an instant later Kid Flash was standing before the T-Ship, hands on his hips and a smug smirk on his face.

"You guys didn't honestly thing such a big and slow dragon was going to be enough to keep me occupied did you?"

"Do I get to handle the guy who's too fast for us _now_?"

Yet anyone could do anything further a metallic claw suddenly reached out and gripped Kid Flash by his neck, holding him up in the air. Blackfire, Red-X, and See-More traced the claw down through the overly extended length of the arm and finally to where it connected to Fixit's body, an unconscious Raven still in his other, normal sized, arm.

"I am getting tired of your boasting." Fixit spoke in his stoic voice.

"Nice grip there mister tall, dark and gloomy, now let's see if you can hold it!" Kid Flash taunted before his body began vibrating until he was only a colorful blur again, though Fixit's hand remained steady and tight even after Kid Flash wore himself out.

"I'm afraid the heat at your level will not be enough to shake my hold on you." Fixit informed as he dropped the now starving and weakened Kid Flash on the ground.

"Bastard…" the speedster muttered before passing out.

"I believe it is time for us to go now, Blackfire." Fixit spoke, his now free arm returning to its normal length as most of it disappeared back inside his body.

"Agreed." Blackfire replied from the robot, the red lens then shared a glance with See-More before focusing back towards Fixit, specifically the Titan that he carried in his arm.

"And let us take Raven with us. I believe she will be ample incentive to keep the Titan's off our backs and I am fairly certain she knows where our silent little thief is being held."

"But I'm right here!" Red-X announced.

"No, I didn't mean you X, in case you didn't realize, you're not silent, ever."

"…Oh yeah."

"Well if that's the plan I think we'd better get moving before the Titan's realize that we can use their ship now." See-More brought up, his eye glancing back towards the still raging battle.

"Good point, and Fixit, save her communicator for now; I would like to give our good friends a farewell message before we get rid of it."

"As you wish, Blackfire."

The group then began to make their way towards the T-Ship and as they did See-More looked one last time towards Malchior, seeing the fire erupting from his jaws, the boasts and taunts called into the air, and the ever growing smile glowing in his red eyes. See-More couldn't help but smile as well as he turned away from the Dread Dragon.

"Take care of yourself." The optical teen whispered.

**XXXXXX**

I did not awaken from the pitch darkness for what seemed like an eternity. I have had strange dreams before, but a dream about nothing but falling through an endless darkness, now that took the cake.

I thought this as I opened my eyes and as the haziness began lifting from my vision. Though, when I looked around, I did not see the Titan's Tower, or the island, or Jump City or anything that would make me believe I was still on Earth.

All around me was blackness; in fact, the only thing that wasn't swallowed up by black was a very long expanse of a floating pathway of stone, of which I now laid on. As I stood up I tried to see any sort of ending to it on either side, but there was none to be had.

"Where am I?" I asked out loud and immediacy I gasped and immediately afterwards placed a hand over my mouth.

I stood there in awe for several seconds, not knowing what to do next. Very slowly I removed my hand from my mouth and taking a deep breath…

"Hello?" I couldn't help but jump again. It was a voice, _my_ voice, I spoke! But that couldn't be, this couldn't be happening, I can't be talking, that's not how it worked…

"Hello there!" A very chipper and pleasant voice greeted, making me jump again. I couldn't believe it, I was on a world, _some_ world where I could talk and where there was nothing but a very lengthy pathway, was there really someone else who was stuck here to?

"Who are you?" I tried out my voice again as I turned around, only to be shocked back into silence as I came into contact with a very happy looking, and very pink Raven.

"I'm Raven!" the pink robed girl greeted, her smile actually growing bigger, "It's a pleasure meeting you again Kyd Wykkyd, welcome to Raven's head!"

"Ravens…"

Oh god.

**XXXXXX**

**To Be Continued…**

**XXXXXX**


	14. Necessary

**The Wicked One**

**Chapter 14: Necessary **

XXXXXX

The pink robed Raven and I walked, well, I walked, Raven appeared to prefer to skip down the long winding path in silence for what seemed like ages. I wanted to ask her why she wanted me to follow her, why she was wearing pink robes, and why did she think it was a good idea to trap a villain inside her own head but I was still trying to get used to having use of my own voice again. Every time I spoke it felt like someone else was talking through me.

"Not much longer now!" Pink Raven called cheerily, ceasing her humming of some song and pointing towards an ominous looking circle of stone that hung over and around the pathway. "We just need to go through there!"

"Why…" I spoke, trying to form a question but as soon as I did I felt my throat close up on me. Pink Raven stopped then and turned to face me, forcing me to stop as well.

"Go on," she insisted, hands at her hips and a big smile on her face, "I know you want to say more than just 'why'."

I gave her a cross look before concentrating on trying to speak. With a deep breath I managed to get out:

"Why…are you…pink…?" It wasn't the first question on my priority but it was all I could manage to get out before being forced back into silence. Raven's amused smile impossibly got bigger.

"I'm pink because it's my favorite color!" Pink Raven declared before spinning around and proceeding to prance towards the gateway. I gave her back the meanest of glares before letting out a sigh, though when the actual sound came out I was greeted with a chill running down my spine.

I could tell this wasn't going to get any easier.

"If you don't hurry you'll be stuck in this part of Raven's brain, I promise it gets more fun than this!" Pink Raven called, still prancing towards the gateway.

I forced myself onwards despite a growing sense of fear for the gaping gateway. I gripped my cloak as I walked, it wasn't the first time I had thought to use the cape to escape but I had never used its powers inside another dimension before. I wasn't sure if it would actually work or if I would just turn up somewhere inside out, and I wasn't too keen on finding out.

"Come on slow poke!" Pink Raven pressed, suddenly appearing from behind me, walking as if she had always been there, she then began pushing my back, forcing me to walk faster, "You want to get out of here don't you?"

"How do I…even know…you're not…taking me to a…trap?" I managed to get out as Pink Raven shoved, immediately the Titan giggled.

"I think you've got me confused with Intelligence or Rage. I'm Raven's happiness, I only want to see others happy and I know it would make _you _happy if you got out of here!"

"You're an…emotion?" I hesitantly asked, growing more confused by the second. In response Pink Raven ruffled my hood, sending it slightly askew.

"Duh! Why else do you think I hang around…"

However Pink Raven trailed off and before I could ask her why I felt the soft, gentle touch of fingers as they trailed over one of my ears. With a yelp of surprise I leapt away from her, swiftly adjusting the hood so it covered my ear again.

"Your ear…it's big…and pointy…" Pink Raven spoke wide eyes trained on me and her hand still outstretched.

"Yeah…I know." I replied, keeping my eyes focused on the stone pathway now.

"Are you a…demon?"

"I…don't know…"

"Are you an elf then?"

I shot Pink Raven an annoyed look, she looked back at me with a smile.

"I'm just kidding of course! Look, if you don't want to talk about it you don't have to, but we need to hurry and get through the gate!"

"Will it take me home?" I asked, looking backwards towards it.

"No. But it will take you one step closer."

I wanted to sigh but I was afraid that I would actually hear the sound again so instead I merely stepped to the side.

"Lead on then."

"Good!" Pink Raven exclaimed, running past me, "Now come on! Run a bit, no more of that brooding walking!"

"I don't really-." I began but was cut off when Pink Raven gripped my wrist and proceeded to run, forcing me to keep pace with her.

"I wasn't asking Kyd Wykkyd." She informed me as we ran, looking back at me with a smile. Staring into her face, so full of pleasure and joy I had to fight the sudden urge to smile as well.

**XXXXXX**

"Are we there yet?"

"I swear to god Red-X I will turn this ship around if you don't stop asking me that!"

"…no you won't"

"I do not mean to interrupt." Fixit's stoic voice cut through on their shared intercoms, "But why have you not spoken to us on where your prison is exactly? If you can at least inform me I will be able to prepare properly."

"Trust me, even if I told you all where I am being held it would not help any, it's better for everyone to just see for themselves. And Fixit, I'd keep your priorities on keeping that Titan asleep."

"It is under control." The mechanic returned. See-More looked across the ship to see Fixit sitting rather uncomfortably with Raven in his lap, his hands on her head and red eyes constantly glowing.

"Now now, don't have _too_ much fun in there tin man." Red-X taunted, looking rather comfortable in his seat with his legs outstretched and hands behind his head.

"I am going silent until we reach our destination." Blackfire informed. See-More switched his gaze to the robot orb that sat in the center seat; multiple wires were now protruding from it, connecting directly with the ship, "It is taking more power to run this ship than I had anticipated."

"Oh don't tell me that we're going to have to do without your ego and sarcastic wit; I don't know how I'll do without!" Red-X called sarcastically. They sat there in silence for a minute or two before Red-X sat up in his seat and looked over to the quiet robot. "Huh, guess she really has gone silent."

"…Do ya'll think we'll be able to find where she put Kyd Wykkyd?" See-More asked, his one eye glancing towards the sleeping Titan in Fixit's lap.

"I cannot say for sure." Fixit admitted, his glowing eyes staring off into space, "I am unable to read into her mind in this state."

"If you ask me that kid can take care of himself," Red-X spoke up, "for all we know he doesn't even need our help."

"For all we know he does!" See-More countered, "Fixit, didn't Blackfire put that collar thing around his neck? Is it like a tracker or something?"

"…that is one of its functions yes."

"Then why doesn't she use it?"

"Shortly after we took off, Blackfire informed me that the collar did not respond to her, as if it simply vanished from existence."

"And she was just going to inform the rest of her merry crew whenever the need struck?"

"She felt it unnecessary, Red-X, just as I feel it is unnecessary to continue this conversation any further."

"Whatever, you're boring to talk to anyways."

"…Do you think the tracker could pick up Kyd Wykkyd if he was in another dimension?" See-More spoke up again after several minutes. Fixit's red eyes flashed across the ship in his direction.

"I highly doubt it…do you believe he is in another dimension?" Fixit's voice asked over the intercom.

"Can any of these Titan's even do something like that?" Red-X asked, looking over at Raven.

"I was captured by one of their Honorary Titans who could do something like that." See-More informed, "If he could, I don't see why more of them couldn't."

"Well that's reassuring…"

"Fixit, is there any possible way you can find out if she sent Kyd Wykkyd to another dimension or something?" See-More pressed.

"There are risks but I could try to delve deeper into the Titan's mind."

"Should we even bother?" Red-X suggested but quickly continued when he caught See-More's angry glare from across the ship, "I mean I'm broken up and everything that he's gone but is he worth that Titan waking up and sending the rest of us into whatever twisted prison she sent Wykkyd to?"

"Kyd Wykkyd is Blackfire's sole hope to escape. We could do everything in our power to assist her but in the end she needs him. No Kyd Wykkyd means no escape, no freedom of the rest of the villains, and no Zinothium." Fixit replied in his dead tone, his glowing eyes switching from See-More to Red-X.

"Well…when you put it that way…"

"I will delve deeper." Fixit spoke with a simple nod before closing his eyes.

The two teenaged thieves sat in silence for what seemed like hours. Time ticked away in that deep, black space, each second potentially spelling out their end. Just when they believed that Fixit had fallen asleep or something worse the mechanic's eyes suddenly flew open and before either thief could speak the stoic android let out a very loud, very mechanical laugh.

The second it escaped it was silenced, but the noise had still done its damage. The three villains sat in silence for a moment or two before Red-X let out a chuckle.

"Don't." Fixit warned.

"Did you just-."

"Do _not_ speak." The mechanic hissed, his eyes glowering at the masked thief, Red-X trying in vain to silence his laugher in response.

"Fixit…" See-More spoke up, watching as Fixit closed his eyes, a strange look of frustration on his face. "Why did you just…laugh?"

"Yes, do tell!" Red-X insisted between his own muffled chuckles.

"I was compelled to." Fixit replied, his eyes now looking down at the Titan in his lap, brow furrowed in concentration, "When I entered deeper into her mind there was this overwhelming feeling…"

"…What kind of feeling?" See-More asked in a hush, confused and intrigued at how low and worried Fixit's voice sounded. Even Red-X had fallen silent.

"…Joy."

**XXXXXXX**

"Is everything alright Kyd Wykkyd? You seem a bit uncomfortable."

"I just wouldn't think Raven would be so into…flowers…" I admitted as Pink Raven and I traversed through the field of bright and colorful roses, the intensity of it all was enough to make me squint.

"Well _I_ love flowers! I also love bunnies, and ponies, and trees, and paintings, and poetry, and kitties, and writing in my diary-."

"But what about that long endless path we were just walking down a few minutes ago?" I cut in before she got too carried away; throwing a thumb towards the gate we both entered and exited from just a short while ago. Pink Raven gave me another amused smile in response.

"It's really quite simple! You see I'm only half-demon and the other half is human, so, in turn, the things that make me happy are split as well. On one side I enjoy the sweet and beautiful things of the human world while on the other side the part of me that's a demon still enjoys the simple and clean darkness and the security and comfort of only one sure path- the path that leads to death, blood, and utter chaos!"

"Well that's…ah…really creepy…"

"I know! Isn't it great!" Pink Raven exclaimed before proceeding down the path of flowers, "I've been getting pretty good at keeping the demon part of me in check these past few years, I almost don't feel the bloodlust in battles anymore!"

I, finding no other real option, continued to follow the growing concern that was Pink Raven, though I kept my cloak close at hand. I would rather take my chances with teleportation then have to deal with Raven's emotions in any sort of conflict.

"So…where are we going to next?" I asked when I began to see another gateway looming over the horizon.

"We have to go through my Sadness next, it should be fun!"

"Any of this… 'fun' that I should be warned about first…?"

"Oh no no no, the only thing there is a maze and my Sadness will be able to take you through it no problem!"

"And why a maze…if I might ask?"

"Well, I always get depressed and mope when I get confused or feel lost. Sticking me in a maze would be like my worst nightmare!"

We continued walking on in silence after that but I soon caught myself glaring at Pink Raven's back, she had stopped skipping awhile ago. I felt my fingers brush against my cloak.

"Do you really think it's a good idea to give out all of this personal information about yourself to me…a villain?"

Pink Raven did not reply right away, a first, I felt my hand close around the hem of my cape. Suddenly the Titan let out a chuckle which surprised me enough to lose my grip.

"Oh, you don't seem like such a bad person to me." Pink Raven admitted without slowing down or turning to face me. "You're not as scary as you look…you know…you've gotten a lot better at speaking… Kyd Wykkyd."

That's when I heard it, when she spoke my name, the cheery voice all but died away, replaced by something much colder and much more stoic. I tried to back away, but as soon as I took one step Pink Raven was standing right in front of me, only she was no longer pink but a bride shade of yellow. I looked directly into purple eyes that were now enlarged due to a pair of glasses.

"It's time to go, Kyd Wykkyd." Yellow Raven spoke. And suddenly the gate that was still miles away was now directly behind me. I tried to escape, I reached for my cloak and went to pull it over but Yellow Raven's hands were already on my chest and before I knew it I was being shoved through the portal and pulled once again into the blackest of darkness.

**XXXXXXX**

"See-More…Red-X…it is time to wake up." Fixit's voice called over the intercom. Slowly See-More's single eye blinked open before looking around to see his fellow passengers. Red-X was still stretching after recently waking up himself while Fixit appeared to not have moved an inch since they had first taken off, the dozing Titan still situated in his lap.

"Jeez, how long have we been in this tin can?" Red-X questioned, doing his best to get the cricks out of his neck.

"Two days, twelve hours, and forty-three minutes." Fixit responded immediately.

"Well thanks for not relaying the seconds this time tin-man." Red-X replied while rubbing his forehead, "Why'd you wake us anyways?"

"Because we are here."

"And how do you know that?"

"Because there is a planet taking up the majority of what we can see out our windows."

That was when See-More and Red-X looked directly in front of the ship for the first time since waking up. Sure enough there was a large planet making up what was just empty space for days. The planet was mostly white with strange red lines and dots swirling on it making it resemble, to See-More at least, some kind of monster jaw-breaker.

"So...now what? We just land on this unknown planet and just hope we'll run into a prison that just so happens to be holding our beloved Blackfire?" Red-X asked his surprise quickly fading away into frustration.

"I…apologize…for the long…journey…" Blackfire's voice suddenly answered through the intercom, though it was strangely muffled and riddled with static.

"Blackfire? Is that you? Mind explaining to us how-?"

"Save your breath." Fixit cut in, his glowing eyes now focused on the black android that was situated in the center of the ship, "This is a prerecorded message, her robot is close to losing power."

"But…isn't it controlling this ship?" See-More asked, suddenly looking very worried. Fixit only nodded solemnly in response.

"This just gets better and better…" Red-X muttered.

"And I…also apologize…if your landing…isn't as smooth…as planned…but you are here…and the plan will…continue…"

The ship began to shake just when several of the flashing monitors began to fade away from view.

"We are entering the planet's orbit and we are also beginning to lose all power." Fixit informed the two thieves, his eyes now focused towards the planet they were now rapidly approaching.

"Let me be…the first to welcome you…"

"We're not just losing power! This heap of metal is exploding on us!" Red-X declared as the panels around him began to static and burst violently.

"…to my home planet…"

See-More's panicked eye looked up at the glass that kept him between deep space and the ship. His heartbeat pounded away at his chest as he watched the deep cracks start to appear.

"…my prison…"

The ship began to glow a bright red as the group of villain's plummeted ever closer towards the planet. Red-X gripped the sides of his seat for dear life, doing his best to protect his mask from the panels as they continued to explode. Fixit sat as still as the grave, still having not moved since they first took off, though slowly his arms began to wrap protectively around the young Titan in his lap. See-More could only watch with a mixture of wonder and horror as the very ground of the planet appeared through the clouds to meet them; he knew deep inside there was no use fighting it. They would either all die…or they would live.

"…welcome…my dear villains…to Tamaran."

The message cut the split moment the ship hit the planet. And for an instant all that could be heard or seen were explosions of fire and the twisting of metal, and after that…nothing but endless…silent…darkness.

**XXXXXXX**

_**To Be Continued…**_


	15. Out of Options

_**First and foremost I would like to apologize for the delay of the last chapter it is currently summer break and what can I say…I can be quite the slacker. Here's to hoping that this one does not take nearly as long. Once again thank you all who have read and/or reviewed this ongoing story. I appreciate it from the bottom of my lazy heart.**_

**The Wicked One**

**Chapter 15: Out of Options**

**XXXXXX**

I was awoken from the darkness with sharp pain. The sound of the smack from the back of someone's palm rang dully in the room as my eyes slowly opened. For a moment I was blinded by the intense shade of yellow that I was immediately greeted with but before I could even attempt to look away someone gripped my chin and forced me to look up into the face of the Raven with the large glasses.

"Do you know who I am?" Yellow Raven asked, though her tone made it sound more like a demand than a question. I blinked repeatedly, trying to get used to the bright colors before mumbling out:

"Raven…?"

"Wrong!" Yellow Raven declared before another smack sent my head whirling. The force was strong enough to send me off my feet but I soon discovered that my arms and legs were being held by some kind of dark energy, holding them aloft like chains.

"Do…do you have to be so…rough?" A sad sounding Raven asked softly, I looked over to see another Raven clad in a dark grey cloak huddled over in one corner of the room.

"I have no other choice; it's the only way to make degenerate delinquents like him pay attention!"

"Yeah c'mon Sadness, you know Beastboy wouldn't give us any peace unless we were a little violent every now and then!" A chipper voice that I instantly recognized as the happy Raven called out, I didn't feel much like looking in her direction.

"I guess…" Grey Raven mumbled.

"We're wasting time here, let's just beat the information out of him and get on with it!" A loud boisterous voice declared, I watched as a new Raven, one clad in a dark green cloak; march up towards me, a confident smile on her face. "So what's it going to be kid? You going to tell us what we need to know, or do I get to have some fun with you?"

"I don't-."

"You can't just get right to beating him and expect to get any answers!" Yellow Raven challenged, stepping up to Green Raven, "We need to run tests first!"

"Tests!" Green Raven exclaimed the word like it was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard, "What kind of tests!"

"Well first we needed to check that he can still communicate, which he can, next we needed to see if he was disoriented- which he is, meaning we aren't going to get any clear answers unless we get his head on straight."

"Oh I'll straighten him out alright…" Green Raven muttered.

"Now I'll ask you again…" Yellow Raven began, seemingly ignoring Green Raven now as she walked before me, "…who am I?"

I stared back into yellow Raven's face for a moment or two, trying to figure out if this was some sort of trick question or something. Finally I just opted for stating the obvious…again.

"Er…a Raven with glasses?"

Yellow Raven immediately let out a sigh and began to rub her temples in frustration.

"Happiness, you did explain to him what we are, correct?"

"Yeah, of course I did!" Pink Raven insisted.

"Okay then let me ask you this, Kyd Wykkyd." Yellow Raven said, looking up at me now, "What are we?"

I looked from Grey Raven who was cowering in the corner to Green Raven who was standing up straight and proud to Pink Raven who was staring at me with a constant smile on her face and finally to Yellow Raven who gave me a quizzical raised brow in response.

"You all are…emotions?"

"So his heads on straight after all!" Green Raven declared before looking at Yellow Raven eagerly, "Does that mean I can beat him up now?"

"No not just yet, he may provide us the answers we need without the use of violence." Yellow Raven replied, rubbing her chin thoughtfully as she examined me.

"Oh come on! That's no fun!" Green Raven huffed before proceeding to walk away, "Call me when you want real results!" And with that the emotion vanished into thin air.

"My confidence really needs to get out more…" Yellow Raven mumbled to herself before turning away from the spot where Green Raven vanished and looking back at me.

"Let's cut right to the chase Kyd Wykkyd. Do you know why I sent you here?"

I gave Yellow Raven my best confused look before looking around the small dark room that the four of us were situated in. Once again, I hadn't a clue.

"You mean…why you sent me to this room?"

Immediately I heard Pink Raven giggle while Yellow Raven let out another sigh of frustration.

"No no no idiot, why did Raven, the one whose head we're all in, send you into her head?"

"…you don't know?" I asked hesitantly. If this girl was supposed to be Raven's intelligence wouldn't she know why the real Raven sent me here...I thought this as I watched Yellow Raven rub her temples.

"I did know…up until the moment I- the Raven outside- blacked out. I'm under some trance that's affecting my memory…of all things…"

I could only assume that if anyone could put the Titan under a trance it would be Fixit…which means my comrades must have gotten away and have taken Raven captive. While I was relieved with this knowledge I wasn't prepared to share this revelation with _my_ captors.

"My best guess is that I decided to put you in my head because I knew it was one of the few places you couldn't escape from." Yellow Raven thought out loud, looking at me thoughtfully while rubbing her chin. "Which means that something is going wrong outside of my head…seeing as how I so desperately needed a hostage…"

"You know Kyd Wykkyd's got pointy ears like an elf…or a demon!" Pink Raven spoke up fueling my heated glare with a warm smile, "Maybe I trapped him here because I knew he was a demon and wanted to have some fun!"

"…a demon huh?" Yellow Raven muttered as her eyes trailed up to my hood, "You wouldn't mind if I take that thing off do you?"

"Yes, actually, I do mind." I hissed back, giving the Raven my angriest possible look. Still the Yellow Raven only smiled in amusement as she reached out a hand towards my hood.

"Well, I believe you're not exactly in the position to mind anything anyways…" Raven's intelligence replied as her hand inched ever closer. I watched as it slowly reached over my hand, fingers less than an inch from my hood before reaching out as far as my neck could stretch and, opening my mouth, I chomped down on Yellow Raven's hand.

I did not taste any blood but Yellow Raven let out a cry of surprise and pain anyways. Just as I had hoped the black energy that was bound around my arms and legs fell away the moment Yellow Raven let out the outburst. No sooner had I landed on the ground then I was sprinting away from the colored Ravens.

"Stop him!" Yellow Raven cried out to the other emotions. I continued to run, though with no doors or windows in this tiny room I knew there was but one option. I swiftly gripped my cloak and, taking a second to pray that I don't end up somewhere inside out, pulled it around me- instantly vanishing into the familiar cold darkness.

**XXXXXXX**

The planet was mostly barren, as far as the eye could see there was only a dead wasteland of sand and rock. As dead as the planet was it was only matched by the silence in the air. The quiet nothingness only broken by the soft sounds of flames eating at the dry empty air. The embers danced and played amongst the wreckage of the once proud Titan's T-Ship, now nothing more than a heap of destroyed rubble.

All around this destroyed wreckage only a single figure could be seen moving away from it. The lone figure was dressed in dark clothes and frequently cursed under his breath as he dragged the lifeless body in his hands across the barren ground.

"Damn it…" Red-X breathed for the millionth time, feeling weaker and weaker as he forced his broken and beaten body onwards, he could actually feel his muscles and bones cry out in protest as he dragged the body behind him. "Damn it…all…"

"Why the hell…am I here?" Red-X whispered angrily to himself as he took one slow step after another, "Why am I…doing this…"

The multiple red suns beat down viciously upon his dark body. Each step hurt him more and more.

"I'm just a thief damnit…I'm just a thief…" Red-X looked back at the body he was dragging; he didn't even know if the kid was still alive, "You're just a thief to…damnit…"

"I'll get you for this Blackfire…" The master thief swore as he felt his grip loosen from the wrist of See-More, finally relinquishing his heavy burden. But it was already too late; Red-X felt the rest of his energy leave him the moment he was forced to fall to his knees.

Here he was. Red-X, master of thieves, about to die on some unknown planet on the whim of some chick named Blackfire. In that moment Red-X's entire life flashed before his eyes. All of the thieving, all of the fights with the police and the Teen Titans, his rivalry with Robin, his secret love for Starfire, everything good or bad that he had ever done or felt flashed before the masked eyes of the thief. And he knelt there, on the brink of death, and a warm smile spread beneath the skull mask.

"Wouldn't have changed it…for the world…" Red-X whispered to himself before finally allowing his body to fall, the creeping darkness finally taking its hold of the thief.

**XXXXXX**

Happiness walked down the forever long and winding path of earth with slightly less grace in her step. She always enjoyed this part of her brain, always felt comfort that it would never change, never truly go away. It was a constant that she could forever hold on to without fear of it going away. That's why it hurt her ever more to know that someone could be here, at the pinnacle of her joy, and not feel anything but loneliness and sadness.

It did not take long for the emotion to find who she was looking for. Kyd Wykkyd sat on the edge of the pathway several meters ahead of her, arms on his knees and head lowered in what looked like deep thought. Happiness could never truly understand the point in so much thinking, it only distracted one from truly feeling the joy of simply feeling! Though Kyd Wykkyd seemed to enjoy thinking almost as much as Intelligence did.

"How did you find me?" Kyd Wykkyd asked without turning to face her. Happiness quickly broke into a smile. She admittedly enjoyed the sound of his voice- very deep and serious but with an under-layer of strong emotions, like he would be on the brink of laughing or yelling at her at any given moment.

"Sadness tracked you down!" Happiness quickly answered, indicating the grey cloaked Raven who stood a good distance away, her eyes focused on the ground.

"How?"

"Well, whatever emotion you feel the most acts sort of like a beacon to the particular emotion in Raven's head, they are kind of like…drawn to it."

"Why did it bring me here?" Kyd Wykkyd asked, still refusing to turn to face her.

"Excuse me?" Happiness asked, cocking her head to one side as she stepped closer to the teen, "What do you mean?"

"I used my cloak to try and escape this…place but all it did was bring me here…" the villain replied, now gripping the cape at his sides, "I tried to teleport…but no matter where I wanted to go…I was just brought back here..."

"Maybe your cape is bringing you here because you're meant to do something here." Happiness suggested, taking a seat beside Kyd Wykkyd.

"That doesn't make any sense…" the teen mumbled, red eyes staring into the deep blackness, Happiness found herself gazing into his red eyes, finding enjoyment in their strange comfort and familiarity.

Kyd Wykkyd caught her staring but instead of shyly looking away Happiness only gave him a warm smile which in turn caused the thief to look away instead.

"Are you sure you're not a demon?" Happiness asked, scooting a little closer to him. Kyd Wykkyd eyed her warily before shaking his head and staring back into the blackness.

"I wasn't born one if that's what you're asking."

"That's not what I'm asking." Happiness informed with a helpful smile. Kyd Wykkyd actually laughed at that, the sound quickly making the emotion laugh as well. His deep throaty chuckles only pleased her more.

"So you weren't born a demon," Happiness recalled, helping Kyd Wykkyd continue with his explanation, "…but are you one now?"

A trace of a slight smile was still on his face as he held out one of his hands up in the air. Happiness looked on as well and was surprised to see that the fingers looked a lot more claw like than she remembered.

"Not a full one anyways." Kyd Wykkyd answered with a sad smile, showing Happiness his other gloved hand- which looked like a normal humans.

"Ooooooh!" Happiness awed as she gently grabbed both of the villain's hands and holding them up before her wide inquisitive eyes.

"Usually when someone makes a pact with a demon it's always a full job. I've never seen one partially done! Did you and your demon have some kind of special arrangement, or was he just lazy?"

"A pact? You mean you've seen people get turned into demons before?" Kyd Wykkyd asked, quirking his brow at the emotion who was still examining his gloved hands.

"Oh not me personally!" Happiness informed, eyes still sparkling as she prodded the tips of the claws, "My father likes to bolster his armies with other races who made a deal with a demon and then turned, I think it's some kind of physiological thing or whatever. Anyways, which demon did you make a pact with? This claw is superb!"

"I didn't make any pact with a demon…" Kyd Wykkyd muttered, finally pulling his hands free from Happiness and letting them fall to his sides.

"But then why…?" Happiness trailed off as she cocked her head to the side.

"My old master and instructor. She was probably the one who made a pact with the demon…" Kyd Wykkyd then gripped his cape in his clawed hand and lifted it slightly so Happiness could get a good look at it, "I know you Titan's don't keep very good tabs on me personally but did you all ever discuss how I am able to do the things I do with just my cape?"

"Can't say that we have." Happiness answered with an amused smile on her face, "The only time any of us encountered you was when I fought you back during that whole Brotherhood of Evil phase, after that I'm sure you can guess why we decided not to worry about you- or any of the other villain's for that matter."

"Yeah I understand." Kyd Wykkyd said with a sigh, releasing his cape. "Well if you really want to know I don't think it really matters if I tell a Titan…in fact, do you think you can try to help me get out of here if I tell you?"

"I'll do my best!" Happiness agreed, "I didn't really like what Intelligence was doing to you, I think you'd be much happier once you get out of here."

"Really?" I asked, genuinely surprised, "Isn't that going against what er…outside Raven wanted?"

"It didn't make me happy to put you in my head." Happiness pointed out with a chuckle, "I can't speak for my sisters but I just want you out Kyd Wykkyd, you also wanting out just makes me ever the happier to do so!"

"I guess that makes sense…" Kyd Wykkyd admitted, scratching his hooded head with his clawed hand.

"So tell me the story now! The anticipation is going to make me burst!" The pink emotion exclaimed scotching right up against the villain's side, her small hands gripping his shoulder.

"It really isn't that long of a story…" Kyd Wykkyd assured, sliding ever so slightly away from her, "This cape that I wear, it's actually part of a much larger collection of fabric that my old master was gifted with- more than likely from some demon- and she gave me a part of it to wear as a cape. It can teleport you anywhere you want, cut through almost anything, but the only catch is that you have to use it for some sort of dark intent otherwise there are…side effects."

"Oooooh like your ears and eyes!" Happiness breathed out in wonder, staring at the items in questions.

"Right. My only friend died the night I inherited this cape. I spent the better part of a year trying to find his family, I only used this thing three times during that year but it was enough to sharpen my ears, turn my eyes red, and turn my skin grey."

"And then when you tried to escape this place…"

Kyd Wykkyd nodded holding up his clawed hand for Happiness to see again.

"Yup, it didn't work but it still turned this hand into a claw, the other times I tried thankfully only seemed to sharpen a few of my teeth."

"Wow, that's so amazing!" Happiness declared before settling down into a snicker at Kyd Wykkyd's bewildered expression, "But you know, I think getting out of here may be simpler than you think."

"Really?"

"Yes, really!" the emotion proclaimed, "You just told me that the demon only morphs your body when you try to use that cape for any reason besides something 'dark' right?"

Kyd Wykkyd slowly nodded.

"Well maybe you just need to act like you're about to do something really evil and foul before you use the cape. Your desire and willpower alone might take you out of here!"

"That's…a really good idea." Kyd Wykkyd admitted before standing up, Happiness quickly falling suit. The teen then gripped his cape but as he did he looked up at the pink emotion, Happiness smiling in return.

"If this works…I guess I should say thank you…I know I really don't deserve your help after all I've done or tried to do to you…"

Happiness simply shrugged.

"You like to steal and I like to stop people who try to steal. What I do or what you do to one another isn't personal; it's just the natural consequences of doing something that truly makes you happy!"

"Makes sense to me." Kyd Wykkyd replied with a nod before beginning to pull his cape over himself, "Goodbye, and thanks again."

"Before you go!" Happiness called out, halting Kyd Wykkyd's movement, "Can you just promise me something?"

"Sure…" the thief answered slowly, though it all still depended on what the emotion truly wanted.

"Can you promise not to kill any of my friends?" Happiness asked with a smile still on her face, "I don't think I would even exist without them in my life."

Kyd Wykkyd had to fight another sudden urge to smile back into that open and warm face. With a solemn nod the thief answered:

"I promise."

And with that Kyd Wykkyd closed his eyes and concentrated his inner hate and inner demons to the most foul and horrible thing he could even dream of doing. At once he felt his body get pulled into the cold darkness as he pulled his cape around him.

A moment later he was standing in the middle of an island of black rock; all around him ran a sea of burning bright lava. And before Kyd Wykkyd could get a sense of where he was a blur of a black and red figure rammed into him, sending the thief to the hard rocky ground.

"_**So the worm squirms his way into my realm now!" **_The voice of Raven roared, though it was her voice with the accompaniment of a darker, more demonic voice that rang eerily harmonious with hers.

"R-Raven?" Kyd Wykkyd gasped as he struggled with the strong grip that held around his throat beneath the metallic collar. He looked up into two pairs of glowing red eyes piercing the darkness of a scarlet hood.

"_**Yes!" **_ Red Raven hissed, her nails digging into grey flesh, _**"I am Raven but I am also more than Raven. I am her Rage, her Pride, and her Hatred. I am everything that makes her better than any mortal- or any bastard half-demon!" **_

Kyd Wykkyd continued to gasp beneath Rage's tightening grip but he knew he was losing the struggle so with a burst of strength the thief let fly the open palms of both his hands into the sides of Rage's head, aimed directly at her ears.

"_**AUUUUUUUUGH!"**_ The red emotion howled as she clutched her ringing ears. As soon as she released her hold Kyd Wykkyd quickly crawled away from her, but as soon as he got to his feet Rage was already charging at him again.

"_**You can't escape me!"**_ the emotion roared, throwing out her arm which quickly turned into a much larger, more formidable looking black claw of energy. Kyd Wykkyd quickly side rolled away from the dark arm, continuously fighting the habit to use his cape.

"_**Azeroth Metrion Zinthos!" **_Rage roared as soon as she stopped, instantly countless numbers of smaller black arms erupted from her, all reaching out towards the thief.

Kyd Wykkyd ran, doing his best to avoid as many as possible, but he didn't move more than a few feet before several of the hands gripped his billowing cape. The thief was pulled into the air mid step and thrown, he quickly hit the rocky island again, skidding to a stop inches away from the lava lake.

"Can't we talk about this?" Kyd Wykkyd suggested, getting back to his feet. Red Raven snarled in response.

"_**I hated you less when you couldn't talk!" **_Rage declared throwing out her arm again, the black arm that extended out missed Kyd Wykkyd by an inch as he dodge rolled again. Over and over Rage threw out her arms, howling in anger as she did, the arms of dark energy narrowly missing Kyd Wykkyd each time as he danced around them.

"_**You can't dodge forever!" **_ Red Raven roared her supply of dark arms seemingly endless.

_Good point._ Kyd Wykkyd thought to himself as he ducked underneath yet another arm. He then quickly worked his way to the center of the rock island where Rage stood, doing his best to avoid the missile of black claws that she sent his way. Though it was only when he was in arm's reach of the emotion that Red Raven ceased her assault, taking the precious seconds to criss-cross her arms across her chest.

"_**Azeroth Metrion Zinthos!" **_Rage roared, swinging her arms to her side, a dark energized bubble formed a shield as an answer to her mantra and even before Kyd Wykkyd could return to the ground from his failed assault the dark bubble expanded outwards faster than the thief could react. The shield connected with him and sent him further into the air.

"_**Feel the wrath of a true demon!" **_the emotion called, Kyd Wykkyd opened his eyes as he flew through the air which was just soon enough to see the large black claw close around his body. Immediately he was pulled from his ascendance and was sent plummeting down towards the waiting emotion. Kyd Wykkyd could only watch as his face connected with the waiting Rage's fist, the black claw was kind enough to release its hold on him so that he could go sliding through the black rock again.

"_**Had enough?" **_ Red Raven hissed as she made her way slowly towards the sprawled out thief.

"If I said yes, would you stop?" Kyd Wykkyd tried, surprised that he was able to get back up with relative ease considering the punch he had just received.

"_**Not a chance." **_ Rage replied with a wicked grin, _**"I am finally given a toy to play with. And while I cannot kill you in here I can certainly enjoy trying to for the rest of my life…and please do fight back…it will make this all the more fun." **_

"Oh joy." Kyd Wykkyd sighed hunching over slightly to prepare for the next round and…more than likely…for the next beating.

**XXXXXX**

**To Be Continued…**


	16. Problems

**The Wicked One**

**Chapter 16: Problems**

**XXXXXXX**

What drives you? What gives you purpose in this world, gives you the strength to go on? A voice questioned, though it sounded too far away to make out whose it belonged to.

I immediately knew the answer, it was so much a part of me that I believed this question to be completely pointless. If this person knew me, and they had to know me, then they already know what the answer is.

Thieving, I answered without a moment's hesitation, even saying the word out loud was enough to get my blood pumping. That's all I ever need in this world, as long as there's something to steal then there's something worth living for.

You do not believe this to be a simple purpose? Simply to steal? Does your heart and mind not desire more out of life, out of your own life?

No, I answered, even quicker than before, almost cutting off my questioner, it doesn't.

What of your feelings towards women? What of your desire for companionship? You know that you feel these feelings, do you not acknowledge them?

They are not _real_ feelings; they are distractions, nothing more than obstacles in my way.

So is that why you chose to side with Robin, twice, and chose to help rescue Blackfire and work together with Kyd Wykkyd and See-More? They were obstacles yet you chose to work with them, not go through them.

I only did those things to help serve me! I shouted back. I only worked with bird boy when I did because if I didn't then I would be in jail right now! I am only trying to rescue that alien and work with those two thief posers for the Zinothium! That's it! They _are_ only obstacles and they _are_ only getting in my way!

So then why did you bother to drag See-More's corpse down with you? Surely his body was only getting in your way as well…

I feel silent at that, a cold chill running down the entirety of my body.

Just answer me one thing, Red-X, the questioner continued, his voice now sounding much closer and much more familiar. Who are you trying to convince? You? _Or yourself?_

Wh-

"-at?" Red-X finished out loud as he bolted up right from his slumber. Though as soon as he did a great pain immediately racked his rib cage and he quickly fell bad down against the rock bed, cursing and groaning in pain.

"Ah. You're awake." A stoic voice observed. Red-X glanced over in his pain and quickly caught eye of Fixit who was standing near some sort of cave entrance, a roaring fire crackling beside him, though the thief quickly surmised that it was technically the exit as they were inside the cave itself.

"What happened…to me?" Red-X managed to groan out trying his best to lie still as to not disturb his pained body.

"You survived a spaceship crash, to put it simply." Fixit replied red eyes fixed on the teen, "Though you have fractured several of your ribs, sprained your ankle, and have a minor concussion- I suggest that you stay awake for the time being."

"Oh is that all…" Red-X sighed carefully feeling his body with his hands.

"You should consider yourself lucky. Not many people make it out of such a collision with minor injuries."

"Speak for yourself." The thief returned, groaning again as his fingers traced over his ribs. A sudden thought however made him almost completely forget about his pain. "Where's See-More? Is he…?"

"See-More is over there, by the cave wall." Fixit replied, motioning his hand over by Red-X, the thief turned his head enough to see that See-More was lying down much the same way he was, though Red-X couldn't help but notice how still and motionless he was.

"Is he…dead?"

"No, he is just unconscious. In fact See-More appears to have taken next to no injury from the crash, I suspect he managed to activate some sort of shielding mechanism before we made impact."

"You mean he isn't…hurt at all?" Red-X asked, his masked gaze fixed on the slumbering thief.

"Not in the same way you are." Fixit informed, "His body may be unharmed but I have no idea how badly his mind is damaged from the shock."

"Well can't you just go into his mind like you did with…" Red-X trailed off however when he noticed that Fixit's arms were simply hanging by his sides…no longer were they focused on keeping back the deadly powers of a certain Titan.

"Hang on…where's the Titan? Don't tell me you lost her…"

"I did not, Raven is sleeping right there beside you." Fixit replied, pointing to the thief's immediate right, Red-X slowly turned his head to see that the mechanic was right and the purple robed Titan was dosing mere feet from where he lay.

"What are you doing! If she wakes up we are all going to be demon dessert!" Red-X exclaimed, trying to move away from the hero but only managing to agitate his damaged ribs even further.

"There is no need to get worked up." Fixit spoke over the thief's renewed moans of pain, "I managed to put the Titan in a deep enough slumber so that I do not require physical interaction to keep her under."

"Well why didn't you do that before?" Red-X questioned as the pain slowly subsided, looking over at Fixit with an unseen, knowing look, "Enjoying the 'physical interaction' a little bit too much?"

"I was not able to do this by my own knowledge." The mechanic returned his expression still as blank and unreadable as ever despite Red-X taunts, "As I sat amongst the ruined wreckage of the ship a sudden wave of intellect emitted from the girl and provided me with the needed information and power to put her under for long periods of time. However as soon as I had done this the wave of intellect subsided, along with the information I used to sedate her."

"So what you're saying…" Red-X muttered, glancing over to the almost peaceful looking demon girl, "…is that this is only temporary?"

"What I am _saying_ is that I need to find where Blackfire is being held before the Titan awakens."

"And how do you suppose we do that? In case you haven't noticed your three partners are a little unprepared for taking a journey across some alien planet."

"I did not say anything about _we_, Red-X."

The thief and the mechanic shared a silent stare after that before Red-X spoke up again, slower this time.

"Are you saying that you are planning to leave us in this cave while you search aimlessly for our damsel in distress? I knew you were a robot Fixit, but I didn't think you were _that _cold."

"My search is not aimless." Fixit retorted, a very slight hint of insult in his voice now, "Blackfire has provided me with the information of where to find her, her cell lies within the main kingdom on this planet- its coordinates are stored within my brain."

"And what if you find it? You're going to go in there guns blazing and rescue the princess from the dragon all by yourself?" Red-X questioned, anger beginning to mix with the pain in his body.

"Certainly not. If Blackfire needed just me she would of never made contact with either you or Kyd Wykkyd. The three of us were chosen to be the ones to rescue her, together not alone." Fixit informed, his red eyes boring into Red-X's, "I do not intend to abandon my comrades, I shall find the palace and when I do I shall return to free Kyd Wykkyd from whatever trap he is in and to bring you into a full recovery, you have my word."

"Should I take your word as good as a word from the Titans?" the thief asked after a moment of silence, his anger slowly and quietly subsiding. It vanished completely when he caught the slightest hint of a smile twitch at one edge of Fixit's mouth.

"I have learned from the mistake that Cyborg made. You have my word, as a villain, that I shall return."

"Well now _that_ is reassuring." Red-X replied with a chuckle, falling back against the hard rocky ground, "Wake me when I'm not so useless."

"I shall." The mechanic replied, already stepping out from the cave and quickly vanishing from the thief's view as he made he was across the Tamaranian home world.

**XXXXXXX**

"You know you'll always be mommy's little blue eyed angel." The pretty woman cooed as she held her baby close against her chest, the little baby brushing a hand over her tear stained cheek.

"You're never going to be nothing more than a sniveling baby!" The larger boy sneered as he sent another fist into the smaller boy's gut. The blue eyed boy kept his blue eyes to the ground as the humiliation and pain consumed him.

"You need to grow a pair and become a man already." The smelly unshaven man spoke hatefully as he glared down at the crying boy at his feet, the boy's face red from where he had recently smacked him, "Your mother is dead, get over it."

You will always have a place in my heart." The pretty young girl whispered as she hugged the blue eyed boy for the last time, "It's just Andy, I can't control myself when he's around, you understand right?"

"You're a thief now, the best one there is." The eternal shadow announced though it was only the two of them in the room, "This is your life and your purpose, now, go and make your father proud."

"Who are you!" Robin shouted after the cloaked teen. The skull faced thief looked back into the boy wonder's eyes, a hidden smile on his face.

"Who else? I'm Red-X!"

Suddenly a low mutter and a curse rang through the hallows of the thief's dreams. Red-X slowly began to open his eyes as the darkness vanished but he immediately let out a cry of surprise when a loud thud rang through the cave. Gripping his now irritated ribs he looked over in the direction of the noise to see a skinny green teen struggling as he tried to carry Raven on his shoulders.

"C'mon Raven, wake up already! Your way too heavy!" The green Titan grumbled as he took a few very shaky steps.

"If I was you I wouldn't try to insult a half-demon." Red-X suggested.

"Oh Raven's used to that kind of stuff, she wouldn't really-." The green teen began only to let out a little shriek of surprise when his gaze connected with Red-X's.

"So where do you think you're going with our hostage, little man?" the thief questioned as he sat up a little, albeit with sizeable effort.

"I'm taking Raven back home, and I'm not going to let any of you stop me!" The Titan declared as his green eyes glared straight at the thief. Red-X looked around the cave and couldn't help but notice that it was just him and the two Titans…

"Well I guess you're in luck," Red-X replied as he rested his head on his hand, "It appears that her guard is temporarily out of commission, you'd better go before I decide to actually be of some use."

The Titan looked at him with an embarrassingly amount of confusion before realization seemed to strike him a moment later.

"Oh…well….I guess…I'll just…be going…" The green teen spoke slowly as he inched even more slowly towards the exit of the cave, his worried eyes still locked on me.

"Sorry man, but I can't let you do that." See-More suddenly declared, the optical villain standing in the only way out of the cave, hand on his dial. The green Titan hesitated for a moment until an idea of some kind appeared on his green face.

"Oh you guys are sooooo in for it!" The teen declared as he used a free hand to reach towards his waist, "When I call in the rest of the Titan's you guys are gonna be…"

Though the Titan trailed off as he began aimlessly patting around his waist, quickly going up and down his legs and soon the rest of his body. See-More and Red-X shared a confused look until, with a defeated sigh, the boy ceased his search and slowly lowered the half-demon girl to the floor.

"Well…time for plan B."

And with that the small green teen suddenly became a giant green gorilla and with a mighty roar he began to charge at the surprised See-More. The optical thief quickly ran to the side, doing his best to avoid the large ape arms as the Titan narrowly missed him, throwing out his now massive hands to grip the sides of the cave entrance to stop his charge. Turning towards the still retreating thief, the green gorilla made to grab at him.

There was not much room in the small cave and with little room to run the gorilla quickly found a grip on one of See-More's legs, quickly pulling the smaller thief to the ground. Though as soon as he fell See-More immediately gripped his dial and aiming his eye at the massive hand on his leg he let loose a bright right laser beam. The red hot energy connected with the ape hand and the Titan immediately relinquished his hold, gripping his hand and howling in pain.

"C'mon monkey man, let's take this outside!" See-More called making a move for the cave entrance. The large gorilla let out a low growl before suddenly morphing into a ram, the animal then immediately charged the thief, its horns making contact with the thief's gut and sending him flying out of the cave.

"I gotcha Raven, let's get out of here!" The green teen who was now just a teen again spoke as he knelt beside the half-demon.

"Uh uh uh." Red-X spoke up, the Titan looked up to see that the thief was sitting much more upright now, one hand kept him up while the other was aiming its palm directly at him. The teen could easily see the red x shape in the fabric of the hand. "I decided to be of some use after all, I think you remember this particular trick of mine."

A moment later a large X shot out from his palm. The energy turning into an X shaped goopy mass in mid-air. Though the Titan did in fact remember this attack and the attacksuddenly sailed past a quick moving green rabbit, missing the critter by inches.

"Hold still Whiskers!" Red-X declared as he shot out another X, the hare easily dodging it again, "Don't make me have to make a lucky rabbit's foot out of you!"

The thief aimed again and let fly another shot as the green rabbit hopped across the entrance to the cave.

"Hey Red-X, didja get him yet?" See-More asked as he poked his head into the cave, only to be nailed by the goopy mass of X, sending him flying back out with a girly scream of surprise.

"Oops…" Red-X muttered, before looking around the cave again, "Now where did that Titan get to…"

Though as soon as the thief had finished speaking he felt a heavy pressure on his legs. Red-X could only look down in time to see a great green snake before the creature wrapped its long scaly body around the thief, sending the teen spinning out of his make shift rock bed, the bones in his body screaming in protest.

The snake finally stopped wrapping around him when Red-X's arms were securely pinned to his sides, the rest of his body tightly wrapped up in the mass of boa muscle.

"Well, little man, I always knew you weren't a hit with the ladies, I guess this explains it." The thief mocked. The green snake hissed before squeezing its body slightly, though it was enough for Red-X to groan in pain as his ribs felt near to breaking.

"Look…let's start over…you and me…" Red-X breathed through the waves of pain as the Titan squeezed, using the last bit of strength to adjust one of his hands, "…I think we got off…on the wrong foot…allow me to properly… introduce myself…my name… is…Red-X."

And with that the thief pressed his palm as firmly as he could against the massive snake and with a final cry of pain he let loose the built up electrical energy in his palm and across the entirely of the snake. The creature let out some strange cry of pain that Red-X had never heard a snake make before and in an instant the creature slithered free from Red-X, morphing back into the green teen.

"I won't..let you…win…" The green Titan growled as he tried to move his electrified body, to little avail.

"Oh yeah? Well I won't…let me…lose…so…guess we kind of…have a problem…there…" Red-X returned, his hidden smile directed at the fallen boy across from him, "So…little man…I told you…my name…the least you could do…is tell me…yours."

And to the thief surprise the green boy not only smiled back but began to laugh as well.

"My name…is Beastboy…you jerk…" The Titan answered as his head slowly began to lower towards the ground.

"That's a…dumb name…" Red-X admitted as he to felt his head slowly fall to the ground, the two of them passing out exactly at the same time…

**XXXXXX**

Fixit hoped beyond hope that he would return to a cave with no problems and no disasters. He found the palace with next to no trouble, was it too much to ask that everything else go off without a hitch as well?

Yes it was. It always was. And Fixit knew better.

That's why the mechanic was almost never surprised, and that was why he was also not surprised when the first thing he saw before even reaching the cave was a fully awakened See-More, now stuck in some kind of sticky red substance that kept him pinned to the ground.

"Yo Fixit!" See-More greeted cheerfully, his arms and legs jutting out in odd angles as he lay there.

"Hello, See-More." Fixit returned as he walked past him.

"I'm stuck!" The optical thief announced, a goofy smile still on his face.

"I am well aware." Fixit replied as he continued to walk towards the cave. He peered inside for one second before letting out a low mechanical sigh.

"Why am I never surprised…" The mechanic muttered as he proceeded to gather up the unconscious bodies that were sprawled out on the ground.

**XXXXXX**

**To Be Continued…**


	17. Questions

**The Wicked One **

**Chapter 17: Questions**

**XXXXXXX**

The cave made not a sound as the odd group of heroes and villains sat, stood, and slept within the natural rock formation. See-More tried his best to stay awake and focused as they remained silent but he continually had to fight with the strange exhaustion that had plagued them since the crash. Thankfully he did manage to get one of his prototype shields to secrete from his eye in time to protect him in time but it still wasn't enough to keep him from hitting his head and blacking out. Now that he was awake the optical thief found it increasingly harder to remain so.

"Beastboy, I have a simple proposition for you." Fixit finally announced after he and the green colored Titan had finished their minute long staring contest.

"Forget it! I will never work for the likes of you!" Beastboy shouted back, fighting against his restraints as he knelt on the ground, See-More and Red-X had an amusing time several minutes go watching the Titan morph into nearly every creature of the animal kingdom as he tried to free himself, only to have Fixit's mechanical straps simply alter their size in order to keep the hero restrained.

"You may have managed to remove Blackfire's collar but I assure you your new restraints will not be removed unless I wish it."

"Yeah c'mon kid, just tell us what we need to know and we'll let you and your freaky dark demon princess go." Red-X spoke up, looking incredibly bored as he propped up his head with one of his arms.

"Never!" Beastboy shouted out in defiance, "Neverrrrrrr!"

"Beastboy I can make you tell me what I need to know." Fixit spoke up as he casually walked towards the Titan, "I only asked out of common courtesy."

"Well then you're going to have to do your worst." Beastboy growled as he stared into Fixit's blank, red eyes, the mechanic slowly raised one of his arms, "Because I-."

The Titan was instantly cut off as Fixit's clawed index finger made contact with his forehead. Immediately Beastboy's green eyes shone with a bright red to match the intensity of Fixit's now luminous eyes.

"What is your alias?" Fixit asked as he stared into Beastboy's red eyes.

"Beastboy." The green teen responded immediately.

"What is your name?"

"Garfield Logan."

"Garfield?" Red-X asked with a snicker. See-More couldn't help but chuckle as well. It was a pretty dumb name; he could understand why the Titan would want to be called something like Beastboy.

"How did you find us?" Fixit continued, pointedly ignoring the two thieves.

"I snuck onto the T-Ship as a fly before you took off. When the ship crashed I tried to rescue Raven and found the cave."

"Who cares how the twerp found us? Just get him to tell us what she did with Kyd Wykkyd." Red-X spoke up, throwing a thumb to the still dozing Raven.

"Yeah man! Wykkyd's been trapped like…forever!" See-More spoke up, mostly to try and add something to the conversation.

"What has Raven done with Kyd Wykkyd?" Fixit asked.

"I do not know." Beastboy responded on a dime.

"He doesn't know? Are you serious?" Red-X sighed rubbing a hand over his masked face. "We would be stuck with the dumb one to interrogate."

"I was afraid of this." The mechanic muttered, closing his eyes briefly before fixing them back on the green Titan. "Sleep."

Beastboy then promptly closed his eyes and fell over, a dreamy look on his face as he fell into a deep sleep.

"Well…what do we do now?" See-More asked hesitantly as his single eye watched Fixit move from one Titan to the other.

"There is only one thing left to do." Fixit spoke as he knelt down beside Raven, "I will have to enter deeper into her mind and extract the information."

"Slow down there Quick Fix…" Red-X spoke up as he attempted to back away from the pair, "Last time you tried this demon girl tried to kill me."

"I underestimated her willpower last time. I will not do so again."

"Right. Well I'll be busy getting as far away from you as possible, you know, just in case."

"Hey man, are you _sure_ this is the best way to find Wykkyd?" See-More pressed, the last time Fixit went in too deep still fresh in his mind.

"I am sure See-More." Fixit replied without looking up at him, his hands gently resting on the sides of Raven's head, "But I do suggest that you and Red-X give us a wide berth of space."

"Don't need to tell me twice!" Red-X stated, already trying to stand up, "See-More you mind giving me a hand here?"

"Yeah, sure thing." The thief responded as he walked over to his fellow teen and wrapping an arm around his shoulder lifted the masked criminal up. Red-X only let out a few groans of pain as they made their way over to where Beastboy slept on the opposite side of the cave.

"So we should make a plan incase this doesn't go exactly as planned…" Red-X suggested as the two of them looked on as the mechanic silently delved into the Titan's mind.

"What kind of plan?" See-More questioned.

Yet before the other thief could respond a terrible, demonic scream suddenly rumbled through the entirety of the small cave. The two thieves looked back towards where Fixit and Raven were only to be forced to jump in surprise when a blur of motion suddenly went sailing past them and crashed into the cave wall beside them. See-More's eye was then glued to wall where a very battered and beaten looking teen in a black and blue costume now lay.

"Kyd Wykkyd!" The thief exclaimed, making a move towards him, only to be stopped by Red-X.

"I think you might want to hold off on a reunion." His fellow thief informed as See-More followed his gaze to see that Fixit was now the one lying on the cave floor while a very awake, and very pissed looking Raven now stood before them, four red eyes glowing in the midst of the blackness of her shroud.

"H-hey Rae, long time no see!" See-More greeted with a sheepish smile, to their surprise Raven smiled back, but it was a very large, very creepy smile.

"_**At last, at long last I am free again!" **_ Raven declared, her voice shaking loose stones free from the cave walls, the sorceress then reached down and lifted up Fixit from the ground with a tendril of dark energy, _**"So my savior likes to play mind games? Allow me to offer my gratitude in kind…"**_

"You know that plan I told you we should plan?" Red-X whispered into See-More's ear.

"Yeah…"

Raven then dropped Fixit to the ground, yet the mechanic remained standing, head bowed.

"Well…here it is…"

Fixit then looked up, though the red eyes they were expecting were now totally encompassed by blackness.

"RUN!" Red-X shouted, shoving See-More away from him and towards the cave. The optical teen took several staggering steps towards the cave entrance, expecting Red-X to be right behind him, but when he looked back all he could see was black tentacles of darkness plow into the masked thief, sending him into the cave wall and out of sight.

"Oh man oh shit oh man oh crap!" See-More cursed as he ran out of the cave. Using his x-ray vision See-More peered through the back of his head only to see a very demented looking Fixit hot on his trail.

"Succumb to the darkness!" Fixit called in his eerie melancholy voice.

"No thanks!" See-More shouted back, doing his best to keep a good distance of space between him and his pursuer.

"There is no use in fighting." The mechanic then shot out his hand and through the back of his head the thief could see several black tentacles suddenly shoot out from his arm. _I didn't know he could do that!_

See-More dodge rolled to the side as the black tentacles made a strike at his back, as soon as he was back on his feet he was back to running, Fixit hot on his tail. The optical teen desperately wanted to switch to one of his gazes that would help fend off his former comrade but he never really devoted his time to memorizing how many turns were needed for each gaze and his free time was currently occupied by switching between his regular vision and x-ray.

"Ohmonohshitohmanohshitohman." See-More breathed using his normal vision to sprint around a large, jagged piece of rock, he switched back to his x-ray vision just in time to see a black tendril slam into the back of his head.

With a gasp of surprise the teen's world turned upside down as his feet left the ground for several seconds, his reality quickly righted itself however when See-More's body returned to the ground, his body suddenly pelted by the numerous jagged rocks that littered the planet's surface.

The teen tried to stand back up, despite the new pains and aches that wracked his body, but he wasn't more than halfway off the ground the black tentacles suddenly slammed into him, wrapping around his mid-section and lifting him back into the air.

See-More looked over to Fixit's face with the intention in trying to talk some sense into the mechanic. But as soon as the thief's eye locked with Fixit's his entire body froze over. The villain's usual blank stare was all but gone, replaced completely with a hatred and rage so deep and so filling it took See-More's breath away. But it was looking into Fixit's eyes, into those two black coals of burning anger, that convinced him that his comrade was long gone.

"Let's play a game." Fixit breathed, his stoic voice suddenly dripping with malice, "I'm going to smash you into the ground and count how many times it takes for your body to turn into a bloody mess of nothingness!"

"Hey man th-that doesn't sound like a very fun game for me!" See-More exclaimed, desperately trying to make time as the tendrils of blackness rose him even higher into the air, "How do we decide if I win!"

Fixit looked up at him, giving him the most wicked of smiles.

"If I get to 100, you win." The black tentacles then rose for the final time and See-More realized he was moments away from being slammed into the painfully rocky ground below. Gripping the dial on the side of his head See-More aimed his eye at Fixit and twisted.

"I'm really sorry for this man…I hope!"

The teen then let out whatever gaze he had landed on. To his surprise an intense sonic blast erupted from his socket, the sound echoed throughout the air around them. Fixit only had time to raise a brow before the blast connected with his head. The mechanic let out a horrible human scream mixed with the echoes of a machine and See-More watched as both sides of his head, where his ears would be, suddenly exploded outwards.

All at once the blackness left his eyes and the black tentacles fell from around See-More, giving the teen enough time to land on his feet, albeit with enough force to send a jolt of pain up to his brain.

"Fixt! Hey, you okay man!" See-More called as he ran over to the fallen mechanic. Fixit's eyes were closed and his face was strangely peaceful despite the wires that now hung out from the sides of his head, static pulsing around them.

"Oh man oh man. I didn't kill you did I?" The thief asked as he knelt beside his comrade. Not much to his surprise Fixit didn't respond. "Oh man oh god oh man."

See-More then attempted to lift the mechanic up, only to realize that he was much heavier than he looked, it was like trying to pick up an iron anvil. Even trying to drag him by his feet proved to be an impossible task.

_Okay okay…what would Jinx do…_ See-More thought to himself, something he thought a lot when he was in a jam, only this time thinking about her brought a dark pang to his heart, _She'd probably just make out with Kid Flash._

Brushing those thoughts aside See-More sat on the ground, quickly regretting it as the jagged rocks dug into his backside. Still, he remained where he sat and quickly went through the numerous gazes he had, looking for something that would help him with moving Fixit. As he sat there and searched he began to realize just how many different visions he had, many he had never even used before despite the fact that it was him who designed it. Well, all each on except for the sea of naked ladies that suddenly filled his entire gaze. With a deep red blush covering his face See-More quickly moved on to the next one, remembering vaguely that he meant to get Gizmo back for messing with his eyewear. Though thinking that just filled his heart with more weight.

_That's why I'm here. _See-More reminded himself as he continued his search. _To bring them back, all of the HIVE members._

See-More then began thinking to himself about HIVE as he flipped through the nearly endless series of useless visions. Had they started recruiting again? Probably, he decided. I wonder who replaced Brother Blood. See-More couldn't remember seeing his old headmaster with the rest of then when they worked for the Brotherhood of Evil which meant that he was probably still locked away in high security. That was probably for the best to, See-More couldn't particularly remember anything they accomplished while under his tutelage, from the moment he was headmaster until the moment he was stopped by the Titans everything was just a long red blur.

_Granny is probably in charge again._ The teen thought with some hope. He always liked the old woman despite her overall strict and stern attitude. He knew she cared about them, maybe so much in fact that she is looking into the entire class's disappearance right now! See-More smiled to himself at that thought, taking comfort that all might not be lost if they failed now. _\_

_ Not that we will…but still._

"S-See-More?" A soft, mechanical voice suddenly called out, breaking See-More's train of thought.

"Oh man!" See-More quickly switched to his normal gaze to look over to Fixit, his heart losing some of its extra weight to see that he was looking back. "No way! You're alive!"

Fixit gave him a quizzical look before raising a hand, attempting to touch one of the gaping holes on the side of his head. See-More was quick to stop him.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you." See-More suggested with a helpful smile, slowly placing Fixit's arm back to his side.

"I can't hear you, or anything else." The mechanic spoke up, his red eyes staring squarely into See-More's single eye, "What happened?"

In response the thief merely shrugged, smiling helplessly. Fixit's eyes leered.

"Sorry man, I don't know what to te-."

"You did this." Fixit spoke before laying his head back down to the ground. See-More looked down at him with a mixture of surprise and guilt.

"What? How? Did you just read my mind?"

Fixit didn't respond and it took a moment for See-More to realize that he was still deaf.

_Hey uh…can you hear me?_ See-More thought in his head, his eye trained on Fixit's face. Eyes closed the mechanic slowly nodded.

_Well…if it means anything…I'm real sorry man…_

Fixit didn't say anything back for a moment and just when See-More was about to think something further his eyes slowly opened, fixating back on the thief.

"Why did you have to attack me?"

_You attacked me first!_ See-More thought quickly, _Raven got into your head somehow and made you her puppet._

Fixit nodded, somewhat sullenly. "And where is the cave? And Red-X?"

_Oh er…the cave is…_ See-More looked around them, expecting it to be just over the horizon but to his dismay it was nowhere in sight, Fixit must have chased him farther than he anticipated. _That's a good question man._

"And Red-X? Is he alright?"

See-More felt his throat tighten at that question, he was grateful now that he didn't have to actually speak to Fixit.

_That's…another good question._

Fixit let out a mechanical sigh before suddenly sitting up then standing up in one fluid motion. See-More quickly stood up as well, looking at his comrade with some apprehension.

"Hey man, you sure you should be up and walking around so soon?" See-More asked out loud before realizing his mistake and quickly repeating the question in his head.

"I'm fine." Fixit replied curtly, he then made a move to feel his holes again but thought twice about and lowered his arm back.

_Well…I guess we should try to find that cave._ See-More suggested with a small smile before beginning to switch to a proper scanning vision.

"See-More." Fixit spoke with such a sense of urgency that the teen quickly stopped what he was doing and faced the mechanic, face full of worry. "I'm sorry, for endangering the mission."

"Don't sweat it." See-More replied, worry replaced with a smile as he switched to his scanning eye, the lens now reflecting a grid pattern where his eye used to be, they would find the cave in no time.

Fixit felt a strange clarity quickly arise in the air around them. He had believed that feelings like guilt were all but behind him, that they no longer held an impact on him. How strange that joining with a band of degenerates would prove him so wrong. He once again fought the urge to feel what happened to his ears.

"How how exactly did you manage to damage me this way?" Fixit asked out loud, not concerned at all that his voice would change despite him being unable to hear it. He was genuinely curious however, when he first met See-More he believed the young boy to be little threat. See-More smiled sheepishly in return.

_I didn't mean to hurt you so bad. It was just a little blast of sonic energy._

All at once Fixit's cold body grew colder.

"You…used a sonic pulse?"

_Yeah man, it was just something I chose at random. I was lucky you didn't end up killin' me!_

"See-More we need to leave…now."

"Wait…why?" Fixit read on See-More's lips, as the teen turned to face him. Fixit was about to reply but suddenly the young thief's face changed, what once was an expression of simple curiosity suddenly gave way to pure surprise and horror as his single eye looked at something behind the mechanic, the grid pattern disappearing from his gaze.

See-More then grabbed Fixit's arm and tried to pull him, screaming something Fixit no longer bothered to try and figure out. He slowly allowed his eyes to close; it all did not matter anymore.

"Fixit we have to go!" See-More shouted, tugging at his un-moving comrade though Fixit remained still. The teen looked back to where he saw the two orange figures, only to find that they had gotten much, much closer.

The first orange figure rammed into See-More. To the thief it was like being hit by an armored truck and in an instant he was on the ground, an orange skinned and armored man pinning him there and shouting things at him in a strange language.

"Hey man, lay off I-!" See-More tried to shout but the orange man placed a firm hand over his mouth, the other holding down both See-More's hand's by his wrists with little to no effort. See-More struggled helplessly against the alien, but it was like being stuck in concrete. The thief's single eye darted over to where Fixit was only to see the mechanic was knocked down by another orange alien, the creature keeping one foot on Fixit's back while he held both arms in the air. The thief desperately wished he could see his comrade's face. The orange alien holding Fixit shouted something that sounded like a question, tightening his grip on the mechanic's arms.

"We were both sent by Blackfire, to rescue her." Fixit spoke as soon as the alien had finished speaking. See-More's eye bore into the top of his head.

_ What're you trying to do man, kill us? _ See-More thought, though Fixit did not respond.

Both the aliens froze at the mention of the word Blackfire, from the corner of his eye See-More watched as they both shared a secret, knowing glance. A second later the sound of static and splitting wires filled the empty air as Fixit's captor ripped both of the mechanic's arms clear off their sockets. Fixit made not a noise but See-More was screaming now as electricity surged from the newly opened wounds. The next moment See-More's captor released his hand from the thief's mouth.

"What the hell are y'all doing! What-!" But that was all the young boy got out before a large orange fist made contact with his face. All See-More heard was a sharp, loud cracking noise before blacking out into unconsciousness.

**XXXXXXX**

The room was dark. Very dark. It was so dark in fact that even Beastboy's night piercing vision couldn't see through it. What he could see however, was enough to make the hairs on his neck stand on end.

There were only two light sources, one pointed over him and the other pointed over a wide, glass-looking tube that held Raven. Though as Beastboy watched as his friend repeatedly beat herself against the prison he surmised that it was definitely built of something stronger.

There were two guards that stood directly outside of Raven's tube, the young sorceress stared down hatefully at them and shouted silent curses and threats through the 'glass'. The guards wore shiny, purple armor that reminded Beastboy of a lot of the stuff people wore in those Final Fantasy games he used to play. Though the parts of their bodies that weren't clad in armor shone with a bright orange intensity, the pieces began to fall into place in Beastboy's head as he stared into their glowing green eyes.

"Hey!" Beastboy called out, his only restraints consisted of the same device that Fixit had used to restrain him earlier only now there were heavy chains that clung to his body and ended wedged into the ground, effectively keeping him on his knees. Still, he wasn't trapped in the tube, he knew they could hear him. "Why are you guys doing this! We're Titans, you know, the good guys?"

The two guards did not even acknowledge him, Beastboy wasn't even sure that they blinked.

"Helloooooo? Dudes?"

Still nothing.

"You guys are Tameranians right?"

The two guards exchanged looks then and a flicker of hope ignited in Beastboy's chest.

"I've been here before! Raven has two! We're friends of Star, er Starfire! You guys know who Starfire is right?"

The two guards then turned back to him, their cold green eyes never changing, still glowing bright green. Beastboy recognized that as a sign of hostility from fighting alongside Starfire, he also couldn't help but notice the rather large, elaborate spears they were now carrying. Slowly they began to make their way towards him, disappearing into the darkness between his and Raven's cells.

"Er…Starfire's dad…uh her Gnorfic or something…he's like…the king…or something…isn't he?" Beastboy hurriedly remarked, grasping at any information as the guards undoubtedly approached.

"We came here not that long ago cause Starfire was going to get married but her sister was gonna make her marry this gross green thing and Robin didn't like it and we found out that it was all a set-up so we helped overthrow Black-."

But it was as far as Beastboy got as the guards suddenly thrust their spears at his neck through the darkness. The blades stopped less than an inch away and all at once the words died on the Titan's lips, they looked much sharper this close up. His wide green eyes staring helplessly at the angry green eyes of the guards.

"Senpar udnek." One of the guards hissed, Beastboy subconsciously gulped. He recognized that phrase from when he actually annoyed Starfire to the point of anger and she shouted it at him, she quickly apologized and explained in length that it basically meant shut-up. These guards didn't look like they were in the mood to apologize anytime soon.

"G-got it." Beastboy breathed.

"Retsnag!" A new voice suddenly called out, at first Beastboy assumed it was one of the guards again but that idea quickly left him as the two that held the spears at his neck suddenly backed away, disappearing once again into the blackness.

A few moments later a new Tamaranian took his place. He was tall and slender, his finely shaped body not hidden by armor but a rather revealing set of cloth wrapped around his chest and waist. Beastboy knew he recognized the long flowing red hair and the calm, abnormally attractive face from when he was last here but for the life of him he couldn't think of where.

From behind the newcomer the two purple armored guards stepped back into the light of Raven's tube. The young empath still beating against her prison and shouting silent curses.

"Why are you guys keeping us locked up like this?" Beastboy asked as he stared up into the Tameranian's eyes, his were a lot calmer looking and less glowy than the guards, perhaps it meant that he was more reasonable as well, "Aren't we all good guys here!"

Instead of answering the alien man simply looked back down at Beastboy, a gently smile creeping up on his lips. After another moment or two Beastboy's brow furrowed as his anger began to swell.

"Okay dude, what exactly is going on he-?" But the Titan was once again cut off as the man suddenly grabbed Beastboy by the chin and in one fluid motion brought their lips together. Beastboy's eyes grew instantly wide with surprise and horror.

"DUDE!" Beastboy shouted as the Tamaranian finished the kiss and backed away slightly, the Titan began spitting at the ground wishing desperately he had a free hand to wipe his mouth and then hit his assaulter. "What the hell did you do that for!"

"You are Beastboy yes? Of the Titans?" The Tamaranian suddenly asked in perfect English, his voice calm and sultry.

"What? Yes!" Beastboy exclaimed, the gross moment momentarily forgotten as hope once again sprung in his chest. Yet it was quickly dashed as a knife was suddenly pressed against his neck, the tip already breaking the skin. The Tamaranian looked down on the surprised Titan, the small smirk still on his lips.

"You will reveal to me where the Titan's Tower is. If you do not I will kill you, simple yes?"

As Beastboy looked wide eyed into the alien's beautiful face a sudden mixture of realization and dread finally sunk down deep into his body.

"Or, if you prefer to be the heroic type and still refuse…" The Tamaranian continued, turning slightly so that Beastboy could clearly see Raven's cell as well as the guard who had his finger over a particularly menacing looking red button, "…we shall kill your little friend as well."

Another subconscious gulp.

Not good.

Very not good…

**XXXXXX**

His entire body ached in pain as the thief slowly returned from his forced dive into unconsciousness. He was vaguely aware that one of his shoulders had popped out of place…again. The pain there was particularly intense, even more so when he popped it back into place, though he managed to only let out a low hiss as the throbbing lessened, slightly.

The haze of pain and weariness that plagued his eyes slowly began to clear, it didn't take long for the teen to realize that he was in some sort of large purple colored beam of light, and that he was not the only one there. With slow and careful steps he made his way across the circle of light towards the closest circle to him.

"Fixit?" The teen questioned the figure that lay face down in his own circle, the thief reached the end of his own and found that he could go no further, the purple light was more than just light…it was also a prison. As the teen's eyes cleared further he happened to notice that the mechanic was missing both his arms.

"Fixit!" The thief called, smashing his fists into the walls of light. His comrade remained silent and unmoving. "Fixit can you hear me!"

"I'm afraid Fixit is a bit indisposed at the moment." A sickeningly familiar voice spoke from behind him. The same confidence, the same manipulative tone, just minus the mechanical echo.

"All according to plan Blackfire?" Red-X questioned, the weight of the world dropping into his gut when he turned and saw the black-haired Tamaranian standing in the center of the three cells of her former comrades while she stood tall and assured, guards flanked at her sides and a rather large man standing somewhat distantly behind her.

Blackfire's cold purple eyes looked from the smash-eyed form of See-More to the ripped apart Fixit to the badly beaten body of the master thief and her smile faltered.

"All according to plan…" Blackfire agreed, fists clenching at her sides, "…all except for one.

**XXXXXX**

Close…I was so close… My body was strangely un-harmed despite being severely beaten by a half-demon for what seemed like an eternity though my mind still carried the scars and it refused to move my body at more than a snail's pace.

It didn't matter…I was still close. The large palace that appeared to have been carved into the side of a mountain loomed over the horizon.

This was where Blackfire was being held prisoner. I lightly gripped the cloak that fell over me like a dark shroud. I would get in there and find her…find See-More, Red-X, and Fixit to…I would find them all and free the rest of my teammates…

And then I will proceed to strangle them all to death for putting me through all this crap.

I smiled at the thought as I pulled my cape around me and disappeared into the darkness. It was always nice to dream.

**XXXXXXX**


	18. Remember

**The Wicked One**

**Chapter 18: Remember**

**XXXXXXX**

"So, what makes you three think that you're good enough to team up with us?" the tall skinny girl in the middle questioned, it was obvious in her tone that she wasn't impressed with us.

"Well uh…they're really good at stealing stuff…?" See-More suggested. I fought against the urge to bury my face in my hands.

"Really good? More like picture perfect! Ain't that right Billy?" Billy Numerous asked one of his clones.

"That's sure shootin' there Billy, right Billy?" The clone asked another clone.

"You ain't whistlin' Dixie Billy! Right Billy?"

"Shut-it!" Jinx snapped, flames of anger sprouting in her eyes, the multiple Billy's quickly falling quiet. The hex flinging girl then turned her bright pink eyes to me.

"Well, don't _you_ have anything to say for yourself?"

I stared straight into her eyes. For the first time in a long time I wished I could speak. Ever since the fall of Brother Blood's base all of the HIVE students were either in jail or trying to get by on their own. Jinx and her boys were the only ones who somehow have it good, they even had their own base! This was our last chance to get out off the streets, and there was nothing I could do to redeem what my short-term 'comrades' just ruined.

"Uh, Kyd Wykkyd here can't talk…he's kind of…mute…" See-More spoke up, awkwardly rubbing his hand behind his head.

"Are you crumming kidding me?" The short bald kid muttered under his breath.

"See-More, I gave you a very simple task of finding us worthy recruits. After Private HIVE I _assumed_ that you had learned your lesson…" Jinx hissed, glowing pink eyes leering.

"These guys are good, I swear! Just give them a chance!" See-More pleaded.

"What's the point?" The big lug that stood beside Jinx countered, folding his massive arms, "We can steal any bank just fine with just us."

"Yeah, but only as long as those crud filled Titans don't get in the way!" the short one pointed out.

"And they always do." Jinx mused before her pink eyes went from Billy Numerous to me, something then seemed to click in her head. "Let's make this interesting."

"Uh…interestin'?" One of the Billy's asked as the clones and I exchanged a nervous look.

"Let's just call it…a trial run." Jinx replied, a sinister smile spreading across her slender face.

**XXXXXXX**

The palace was larger than I thought. _Much_ larger. And everywhere I turned there seemed to be more and more guards that were patrolling the hallways. I had to resolve to teleporting into the rooms, nearly everyone of them were empty anyways and as long as I was quiet the ones with sleeping Tameranians didn't notice a thing.

Did all of them have the super strength and flight abilities that Starfire had? I wasn't too keen on testing it out. Did I even have a chance of outfighting one if they did? Again not too keen on finding that out either. I would just have to stick to the element I knew best. The element of surprise.

Suddenly a voice called out to me. A voice that sounded very angry, and very alien. I immediately looked around my surroundings. I was in a bedroom, very lavish and expensive looking one. Though this one was different from the others, for one its lights were on, and two there were two guards that were making their way towards me, spears of some sort pointing in my direction.

I immediately held my hands up, and waited. The two guards were dressed in purplish armor and robes and despite their large lances weren't all that intimidating looking. I felt a surge of adrenaline as soon as the tips of their spears were just an inch away.

I spun around in a flash, rolling alongside one of their spears and sent a kick into one of the guard's chests. Amazingly it not only nailed him, but sent him stumbling back, surprise clearly on his face. The other guard however was quick to react and made to slice me down the middle. I grabbed onto my cape and vanished into the blackness.

**XXXXX**

Billy Numerous couldn't seem to get the big goofy smile off his face as he strode out of H.I.V.E Five's base. His clones followed suit close behind, chests poked out and great confidence in their step.

"So…what did they say?" See-More asked when the Billy's approached us, as if he really needed to. I was already trying to get over the initial shock.

"It's just like I done told ya'll!" The Billy that lead them announced, hands on his hips, "I was quicker than a jack rabbit with a flamin' cotton tail!"

"I out-smarted them Titan's like it ain't nobodies business!" Another Billy declared.

"Except mine!" One pointed out.

"And mine!" Said another.

"Wait wait wait…you took on the Titans by yourself…er selves?" See-More questioned, jaw slack. I to was still finding it hard to believe, clones or not, no HIVE member ever took on the Titans alone and escaped.

"Yup! We kicked some Titan behind and made off with some valuable behind as well!"

See-More and I looked at the still smiling Billy that just said that, a literal question mark in See-More's eye, a figurative one in my face. Quickly another Billy nudged that one.

"Er Billy, I think you went and messed that up." The Billy whispered to the other Billy.

"Messed what up?" the Billy that was nudged asked, quickly losing his smile.

"That behind behind thing you done just said!" the other Billy exclaimed.

"Wha-?" Billy began before thinking to himself for a second, before sending a kick through the dirt, "Confound it! I meant that darn valuable booty we done went and made off with!"

"We didn't make off with no valuables Billy!" A Billy clone from the back informed, "Those cotton-picking Titans went and made off with it all, 'member?"

"Yeah I 'member ya durn fool!" Billy shouted back, motioning towards See-More and I, "I was lyin' to these two ya doofus! Now you went and made me look like the doofus, doofus!"

"Ah shoot, Billy, I didn't mean no harm!"

"Ah to heck with it Billy, it's all tumbleweed through the town now!"

As we watched this spectacle between Billy's I noticed See-More lean close to me out of the corner of my eye.

"If you can't fight the Titan's single handedly after _this_ guy you might not want to show your face in this city for a good while." He helpfully whispered.

I could only nod back.

**XXXXXX**

As soon as See-More was awake, he instantly wished he wasn't. His head felt like it was being squeezed between two clamps and he couldn't help but moan as he sat up. Another groan quickly escaped his lips as he opened his eye and was greeted with very large cracks obscuring his vision.

"Aw man, don't tell me my eye is broken again…" See-More grumbled as he began to cycle through his eyes, hoping that at least one setting would make the cracks more subtle, sadly, nothing did. "Damnit!"

"See-More. I would advise that you keep your voice down." A stoic voice suddenly spoke up.

"Fixit!" The young thief exclaimed standing up and looking over to where he thought he heard the mechanic's voice. Through his cracked and blurred vision he could make out a black and blue blur lying on the ground a few meters away from him, a strange blue light surrounding it. "Is that you?"

"Yes. Now keep still and speak softer." Fixit commanded. See-More took a few steps towards where he thought he saw Fixit, only to come in contact with the blue light that surrounded him as well placing a hand against it revealed it to be a very solid screen of light.

"Where are we?"

"A Tamaranian prison I believe, somewhere beneath the palace."

"So we got in after all!" See-More pointed out with an attempt at a smile, thought it quickly faded. "Were we the only ones captured?"

"Think again kid." Red-X responded, "I don't seem to have much luck when I'm hanging around you two."

"Yeah…sorry about that…" See-More responded sheepishly as he tried to look over at the red and black blur that sat across the room. "But wait…if they captured you…does that mean Kyd Wykkyd is here to?"

"Nah. And you can have that psycho bitch to thank for that one. Little known fact: Raven likes to play with her food. I was nowhere near the cave when the Tamaranian cleanup crew came to get us and let me tell you they are tough. They had a little struggle with the Titan but after giving her a punch that could make little children cry you can bet your ass I kneeled down and surrendered right there."

"Oh man…" See-More mumbled rubbing his head as it throbbed, "I just don't get it…I don't get any of this."

"Yeah, this all seems a bit anti-climactic. I thought there'd be at least a few more explosions before we got thrown into jail."

"Well our ship exploded…"

"Touché."

"Both of you be quiet." Fixit commanded in a hushed tone. "Someone approaches."

Sure enough, as See-More tried to examine the blurred blackness that surrounded them three purplish blurs stepped in the light that was illuminated off of their cells in the center. One blur had a very bright reddish color that stood out from its counterparts that stood on either side.

"Greetings, thieves, villains, and general disturbances of the peace!" A feministic male voice greeted, "Allow me to be the first to welcome you to our beautiful planet of Tamaran!"

"Yeah really great planet you've got here, I really like what you've done with the soul crushing blackness." Red-X retorted.

"You remind me of a certain individual that I spoke with just a few minutes ago…would you like to know what I did to him?"

"Killed? Tortured? Maimed?"

"I kissed him."

"…I'll stop talking now."

"Good!" The Tamaranian continued, a head pounding cheeriness still in his voice, "Now let me begin by saying what an honor it is to have you three among us, truly. Without you our future plans would be for not!"

"Future plans?" See-More couldn't help but ask as he still tried to see the blurry figure who was talking.

"All in good time, all in good time," he assured, "But while we all here are elated that you three could join us I cannot help but feel that we are missing someone…maybe you know who? Tall, dark, and handsome…likes to keep to himself…teleports…"

The Tamaranian drifted off and the room grew very silent.

"What? No one knows? A shame…"

See-More could barely make out the nodding motion the middle one gave to the two larger blurs that were on either side. The two began walking away from him and towards See-More's and Red-X's prisons. See-More tried to back away, he reached a hand for his dial but as soon as he did the purple blur reached through his prison and gripped his arm, easily swinging it above See-More's head. See-More threw a punch with his free hand to where he thought the blurs face was but it didn't even budge. With another swift motion the purple man suddenly had both of See-More's arms in the air, its one massive hand keeping a strong grip on both the criminal's wrists. Across the room he could hear Red-X struggling with his own attacker.

"Boys. Hagnaket."

The large purple blur made its way back to the talking Tamaranian, seeming to carry See-More in one hand with relative ease. The other purple blur carried his black and red prize in what looked like a similar fashion.

"Blackfire tells me you are the more reasonable one in this little group, Fixit." The Tamaranian spoke. Fixit did not respond.

"Well if that _is_ the case perhaps you will be more inclined to answer me…where is Kyd Wykkyd?"

Fixit remained silent.

"Oh what am I saying? I am incredibly sorry! Let me rephrase that." Another nod and suddenly See-More was on his knees, a foot pressing tightly against his back. Looking over See-More could make out that Red-X was in the exact same predicament.

"Tell me where Kyd Wykkyd is…or I shall have your dear comrades go through the same ordeal you went through…and I can assure you that they will not be walking away quite as easily as you did."

Fixit still did not speak. The seconds seemed to stretch on like eons.

"Did you not hear me, tin man?" The Tamaranian hissed, "If you do not tell me where Kyd Wykkyd is I shall-."

"I heard you." Fixit interrupted. "But it seems Blackfire did not tell you everything about me. I hold no personal attachments to humans, comrades or no. So do what you wish to them, it does not concern me."

See-More felt something cold sink down into his stomach. The silence stretched on even longer then but was interrupted by the Tameranian's laugh, loud, cold, and dangerous.

"You amuse me to no end!" The Tamaranian exclaimed, "Very well, if that is the way you want it. There are plenty more methods to get the information out of you…but first…"

A third nod and immediately See-More felt the tugging against his arms. With horror he realized they were going to do it slowly-.

"Hold on there small, orange, and ugly!" Red-X called out. The tugging suddenly stopped.

"What…did you call me?" The Tamaranian asked, malice decorating the words.

"Blackfire also neglected to tell you everything about me as well."

A pause, but it was quickly followed by an amused chuckle.

"She told me everything I needed to know about you, Red-X, just a little boy who is useless without his precious Zinothium."

See-More suddenly had a realization of his own. Blackfire knew next to nothing about _him_…except that all his powers were in his eye…that was something…but not everything.

"Well that maybe true…she did forget to tell you that I injected just a teensy bit into this get-up…you know…just in case…"

See-More immediately got the picture. Taking the biggest chance in his life he mentally spun the broken lens until it was positioned at the back of his head. There he could see his captor's face, much more clearly this close up, it was big, orange, and currently not fixated on See-More.

With an unseen grin and with great concentration See-More mentally switched his vision to the desired broken lens-an old favorite. The red laser erupted from his damaged lens, hitting the guard full on in the face. His captor did not make a sound as he released his grip and fell backwards.

"Grebnack!" He heard the Tamaranian cry out.

"Grapknet this!" Red-X exclaimed in return sending a kick into his captor's groin. The large purple clad alien did not budge, at least not until the small red x appeared where the thief's foot had been. He only had enough time to look down before it exploded, clouding the group in black smoke.

Red-X moved as soon as he felt the strong grip leave his wrists. He could see perfectly in this smoke, while his prey didn't seem to be as lucky.

"Where are you? Grebnack! Where are you!" The Tamaranian shouted, swinging some sort of fancy looking knife around him. Red-X couldn't help but grin as he approached the alien's back; he had always wanted to say this:

"Right behind you!" Red-X whispered before sending a chop into the area between the alien's neck and shoulder. Immediately the Tamaranian dropped his knife and crumbled to the floor. The thief stood there, looking from his hand to the unconscious alien on the ground.

"Wow. I didn't even think that would work…"

"Hey man…did we win?" See-More called. Red-X looked over to see his comrade still on the ground, though the smashed up lens was now planted in the back of his head. Looking nearby he could see See-More's previous captor on the ground, very much headless.

"Whoa…did you do that?"

"The guy? Yeah man!" See-More tried to position his head so he could see the guard, "Is he…going to be okay?"

"Sure…" Red-X replied as he walked over and helped See-More stand up, "I didn't know you could do that kind of freaky stuff with your eye."

"Oh this?" See-More asked as he reached to the lens at the back of his head, "It's just something me and Gizmo were workin' on before all that Brotherhood stuff happened. We haven't finished yet so I was kinda scared that there would be…uh problems…"

"Are there?"

"Well…I can't seem to move it back…"

"Ah, that would be a problem…can you move it back by force?"

"I wouldn't suggest that." Fixit suddenly spoke up, instantly reminding the two of their comrade whp was still locked away.

"Oh hey there 'tin man', we almost forgot about you for a second!" Red-X greeted. Fixit chose not to respond.

"You think movin' it is a bad idea?" See-More questioned. Fixit nodded.

"I was watching you. You moved your eye without the use of your hands, if I were to hypothesis, that action was stimulated by certain nerve endings in your brain, you would have had to have more nerve endings encoded to return it back to normal."

"Oh yeah! Gizmo was saying somethin' like that…guess that's why he's been tellin' me not to try it out yet…"

"Sure yeah okay, that explains it, dandy." Red-X commented before turning back to Fixit. "So tin man, do you have any suggestions on where we proceed from here?"

"I suggest we make our way into the palace, from there we can attempt to locate Kyd Wykkyd, and from that point we can confront Blackfire."

"And then what? Watch as she laughs at No-Arms, Backwards Head, and the 'useless boy without his precious Zinothium' before beating us all to a pulp?"

Fixit shot him an un-amused look.

"He's got a point man." See-More agreed, "Even if we weren't all messed up I don't think any of us could take Blackfire."

"Perhaps." Fixit mused. "But Blackfire is planning something. There is a reason we were brought here and from what data I collected it only leads to negative results."

The three of them remained where they were, thinking. It didn't take long before a dark thought crept into Red-X's mind.

"Okay, okay, maybe we can't take Blackfire on our own…but maybe we just need…"

Fixit followed the thief's eyes to the long red haired Tamaranian; an understanding instantly reached his brain.

"A little leverage."

**XXXXXX**

I landed in pitch blackness. Well, blackness at first anyways. As my eyes adjusted to the sudden dark I began to make out several pieces of the strange Tamaranian furniture. A spiky thing that looked like it had shelves like a dresser, another spiky thing with a mirror that resembled a vanity, and a bed, much larger than any of the others I had encountered; it was too dark to see if anyone was actually in it.

As quietly as possible I made my way to the door. It was starting to get too risky to just teleport from room to room. I had already been noticed, I was lucky that I didn't teleport into another room with guards. I opened the door just a crack and peered outside. The door led to a balcony of some kind, the open night sky was all I could see from my position, this room must be near the top of the palace, I could see another door that lay waiting across the small room that was connected to the balcony.

I looked behind me, just to make sure I was alone before opening the door any further. Two purple eyes were watching me from the darkness of the bed, I held in a silent gasp, but the chill didn't come until she spoke.

"Well, hello again, Number 36."

I tried to open the door but it slammed shut, the lights suddenly came on revealing a large, purple armored hand holding it shut. The guard that the hand was connected to suddenly grabbed me, twisting my arms behind my back and slammed me into the ground. I gasped for breath as he held me against the ugly, brightly decorated rug.

"My, I never thought I would see _you_ again." I tried to peer up at the woman whose orange bare feet walked closer to me but a hand gripped my head and kept it to the rug. "Who knew the unimportant face in a crowd would grow up to be the illustrious Kyd Wykkyd, I must say Number 36, I am proud."

Her voice was familiar, deadly familiar, especially without the mechanical echo gone from it.

_Blackfire…_

But then how did she know…

_God…_

No she couldn't be…

_God…no…_

"Do you not remember me, Number 36?" Blackfire asked gently, but I could hear the playful smile in her voice, easily hear it. I clenched my fists. "I suppose my voice and hair have changed since then…oh those were splendid times weren't they? Life was so simple back then…"

I wanted to scream, but couldn't. I wanted to cry, but wouldn't. I wanted to _kill_ her…

I trembled beneath the Tameranian's grip. Strong. Way too strong.

I suddenly felt a soft breathing at my ear. Breathing, _her _breathing.

"Tell me…" Blackfire whispered, her cold breath sending another horrible chill down my spine, _"How has Number 72 been?"_

**XXXXXX**

See-More and the other guys were easily impressed by my teleporting, like See-More said they would be. Immediately they were going back and forth about how easy it would be to break into things, to steal things. Jinx wasn't so impressed, like See-More said she wouldn't be, she wanted to test me, to see if I could be equal to or more of a challenge to the Titans than Billy was. I was afraid she would ask me to do this, but I also prepared for it.

Getting into the Titans Tower was easy. They weren't prepared for someone just teleporting inside I guessed.

I spent the first few days growing accustomed to the Titan's layout. It was easy after I found the big metal teen's room and stole his spare blueprint of the Tower, I was sure he wouldn't miss it. I then began planting Gizmo's little spy cameras in almost every room (Gizmo and the other boys tried to pester me into putting them in the girl Titan's bedrooms but Jinx quickly shot them down, but not after ordering me to put one in Cyborg's room).

I then began to have some fun.

Stealing food, hiding the remote, putting items from one Titan's room into another. Gizmo and Jinx wanted me to mess with their security but since I didn't know much about that science and machine stuff I just occasionally pulled a wire here and there, it was amusing to see the lights in an entire sector explode, or the Gamestation the green Titan was playing to suddenly erupt in sparks.

After about a week Jinx was just as convinced of my abilities as the others were. I left without the Titans even knowing I was there. Jinx liked to call me her "ace in the hole" whatever that meant.

See-More slapped me on the back when I joined the group back at their base, grin splitting from ear to ear. Billy and the other guys cheered at my success, even Jinx flashed me an impressed smirk.

And I smiled to, maybe not in a way that any of them could see. I felt whole, complete. I finally belonged, finally found a group, and finally, _finally_, found purpose.

Not with stealing. Not with villainy. No, something more, something closer.

I did more than sabotage and stole in the Titan's Tower. I _listened_. I listened to them laugh, I listened to them bicker, but most importantly, I listened to their past.

The metal Titan and the green Titan seemed to have a lot of fun with picking on their leader about something, about someone, a girl. The orange Titan always looked uncharacteristically sad when they mentioned her, but that wasn't important.

"Man Robin, you were like putty in her hands!" one would say.

"Dude, you were like redder than your costume when she made you dance with her!" said another.

And their leader would always turn red with anger and shout at them to shut-up, and they would laugh in return and one of them would always say.

"Looks like even the great detective can be blinded by hormones!"

"A villain behind pretty purple eyes!"

I finally found you. Robin. The one who stole Number 26 away. The one who drove my only friend away. The one who killed 72.

I will find you alone, Robin. I will kill you alone, Robin.

You will die alone, Robin.

**XXXXXX**

**To Be Continued…**

**XXXXXX**


	19. Strife

**The Wicked One**

**Chapter 19: Strife**

**XXXXXX**

The trio walked slowly through the darkened corridors. It was a slower trek than any of them wanted to make but they had little choice.

"No ones following us still…right?" Red-X had to ask again. He glanced back to see See-More nod, the master thief shivered at how his comrade still appeared to be missing an eye, he was still trying to get used to it being stuck at the back of his head.

"I still can't see very well through my lens, but yeah, we're good."

Making sure that See-More still had a hand on his shoulder he turned his attention back in front of him, where Fixit was leading the way.

He carried the now not so talkative Tamaranian on his back, the alien bound by some sort of weird mechanical wiring that just grew out from Fixit's body. Despite still having no arms the mechanic showed no signs that the added weight bothered him. Red-X flinched when a sudden pain flared up in his side. The Zinothium that seeped into his body after attacking the guard was working as he had hoped, but it was a temporary pain killer at best, made even weaker as the adrenaline began to leave his body.

"Hey tin man, how close are we to reaching the palace?" Red-X called. Fixit did not respond, nor did he even turn around and acknowledge him. Red-X quickly grew annoyed.

"Hey, bolt for brains, are you listening!"

"Oh man I completely forgot!" See-More suddenly exclaimed, causing Red-X to look back to him again, "I kinda blew out his hearin' or somethin' like that, he's completely deaf!"

"Wha-." Red-X began before turning back to Fixit, sure enough there were two sizeable holes on either side of his head. "How did I miss that…wait, if he can't hear than how was he talking to us in that cell room just a few minutes ago?"

"I taught myself to read lips over the course of our stay in the cell. It is not as difficult as one might imagine." Fixit suddenly announced, still not looking back at the two thieves.

"So you got eyes in the back of your head now to?" Red-X questioned. In response Fixit's head suddenly swiveled 180 degrees, emotionless red eyes gazing at the frightened skull faced teen, See-More chose the wrong moment to peer through the front of his head.

"Oh man! I wish I didn't see that!" See-More instantly exclaimed before switching off his x-ray vision.

"No. I do not." Fixit replied before turning his head back in the proper direction, "I simply read your mind."

"Okay then…" Red-X spoke, slowly trying to recover from what he just witnessed, "…wait, so you _did_ hear my question then!"

"Yes."

"So…?"

"The answer is not important for you to know. Focus on the mission ahead."

"Why you little-."

"We will rest in a few minutes and I shall do my best to repair you and See-More. Until then I suggest you conserve your energy…and your breath."

Red-X went silent with a humph, only to flinch as the pain flared in his body again. The walk continued for several more minutes before another thought dawned on the master thief.

"Hey, do you even know where we're going? All these halls seem the same…"

Once again Fixit didn't answer right away and Red-X was about to ask again, much louder, when he finally responded:

"I am navigating using the blueprint of the palace that Blackfire downloaded into my brain. Tamaranian architecture is very different from human's; many layers, no discernable patterns."

"Even in their dungeons?" See-more spoke up.

"Especially their dungeons." Fixit responded, "I surmise it is to keep prisoners like us from escaping easily."

"Well isn't that a mood lifter." Red-X muttered sarcastically, he then glanced at the still unconscious Tamaranian strapped to the mechanic's back.

"I do not think that would be wise." Fixit suddenly answered.

"I didn't even say anything!" Red-X quickly retorted.

"You were thinking it."

"Well…you don't think it's a good idea?"

"No."

"Why not? I'm sure pretty boy here knows all the ins and outs of this palace. All it would take is some…motivation."

"You misunderstand how Tamaranian loyalty works. Blackfire is a princess; all those that follow are severely loyal to her. They would fight to the death for her, receive any order without question, and withhold any information from those that would do their princess harm. Awakening this one and interrogating him would be a waste of time, I assure you."

"Well aren't we suddenly the master historian of the Tamaranian people…"

"Blackfire made sure I had intimate knowledge of her planet and people before we arrived."

"Why would Blackfire do that if she was just goin' to throw you in prison?" See-More questioned.

"I admit that I am curious as well as to why she prepared me so intimately while having the sole intention of imprisoning me."

"It's called playing the part." Red-X answered as if the answer was obvious, "Our little princess just wanted to make sure that we weren't even the least bit suspicious of her double crossing us."

"And you weren't suspicious of her?" Fixit questioned.

"Of course I was. That little bitch always had a plan, you could hear it in that mocking, uppity, spiteful little voice of hers."

"Then how come you went through all that trouble of bustin' out Fixit and stealing the Titan's ship?" See-More asked him.

"Please, do explain."

"What can I say? It was the most fun I've had since my Zinothium was stolen from me, up until the part where we crashed and got locked away anyways. I knew it was a matter of time, just didn't think it would be this soon."

"So…you came along just to…"

Out of the corner of his eye Red-X could see See-More try to turn the back of his head towards him, without making much progress.

"Listen kid, obviously you don't know what it's like to be a thief, a successful one anyways." Red-X shot, See-More didn't respond.

"I see." Fixit noted as they continued to walk, "So with your petty purpose gone you sought a way to escape. What a sad, human reaction."

"How bout you shut that mechanical trap of yours, tin man." Red-X hissed dangerously.

"Oh? Did I strike a nerve? Forgive me; I sometimes forget how touchy humans can be about the truth."

"Hey, I said shut it alright!" Red-X shouted, taking a sudden step towards the mechanic and causing See-More to lose his grip on Red-X's shoulder.

"Hey guys-."

"I heard you the first time." Fixit responded as he stopped moving and turned slowly to face the thief.

"Really? Could have fooled me, what with those two massive holes sticking out of that arrogant head of yours." Red-X returned, "Speaking of which, how did you get those? Someone finally had enough of your shit and tried to blow your brains out?"

"Guys-."

"Clever. I take it you received that mouth from whatever anserine, perfunctory, and genetically defected mother that gave birth to you?"

"Guys really-."

"Now I don't know half the crap you just said to me, but do _not_ mention my mother you robotic bastard child."

"Ah. Another touchy subject on the truth I take?"

"Why you-."

"Red-X, Fixit, c'mon-."

"You tell us you came here with the intention of failing. Of knowing that we were to be deceived. It is clear that you are nothing but a hindrance to our plans of escaping now so I will make one simple suggestion. Leave on your own, or I will be forced to make you leave."

Fixit's threat echoed through the hallway and the small group fell silent for a long time. See-More turned himself so that he could see the two, but of course all he could see was two blurs, unmoving and silent as death.

"So that's how it's going to be huh?" Red-X finally muttered darkly and with that he turned on the spot and began walking back down the way they were coming from, pushing past See-More as he did.

"Red-X, c'mon man, don't do this!"

"Just keep away from me; I don't need some backwards, hack of a thief slowing me down." Red-X called back before his blur disappeared entirely in the darkness."

See-More stared into the dark for a few seconds more before turning on the blur of Fixit in a flash.

"Fixit, man, why'd you have to jump on him like that? That was way out of line!"

"It could not be helped." Fixit simply answered as he walked over to See-More and lifted a part of his robe towards him. "Now grab the hem of my robe and we will proceed. We need to make more progress before I can attempt to repair you."

See-More stared at the silver blur of Fixit's extended hand and back to the endless blackness that Red-X disappeared into. With a defeated sigh he gripped the robe.

**XXXXXX**

"It's time to get up now, Number 36." A soft voice called.

My eyes slowly opened, everything was a blur at first. I tried to move my hands but soon realized I couldn't. Binds, of course I was in binds. I tried to move my feet, but they seemed to be in binds to.

"Mmm…I like what you did with your hand very…demonic."

I quickly clenched my clawed hand, trying to ignore how easily the pointed tips could dig into my palm. Blackfire…Number 26 chuckled in return.

"So is that special little cape of yours from our dearest master? Was that your little prize for being the best of us Number 36?"

I wanted to shout at her. I wanted to tell her to shut her mouth. But all I could do was fight against my restraints. Blackfire's now clear face smirked, how I was quickly growing to hate the face behind the voice.

"In fact…it seems a lot about you has changed lately. Of course I could never not see the scared little boy that I met all those years ago but… your eyes…your skin…oh my even your teeth! You must have been quite the naughty boy…"

I silently growled at her. Blackfire chuckled again as she walked around her bedroom. I turned my attention to the strange purple colored vine looking things that seemed to just grow from the walls to wrap around my wrists and ankles. I tried to shake my arms-they didn't even budge.

"Things have taken such a strange turn indeed…" Blackfire mused as she paced, always keeping an eye on me. "It seems your other comrades have managed to escape my clutches, but at the same time you drop into them…and I really must have them back before our dear King returns…"

Blackfire then turned to me, a brow raised in interest. I knew this could lead to no good.

"Of course I could always just round them up myself. But these bothersome guards in the castle simply _hate_ it when their princess tries to act herself, yet they themselves have proven so incompetent….tell me Number 36...why have you not taken off that collar around your neck? You must have thought that you were free from my control after that horrible accident with the ship?"

I only stared into her devilish purple eyes. Hoping that she could at least feel the hate that I had for her in my glare. We both knew why I never removed the caller. Her eyes widened.

"Oh how you continue to surprise me my little tricky demon. Even after all we had been through you couldn't completely trust me…" Blackfire then pressed a finger to one of her gauntlets around her wrist; a bright red button appeared in response.

"You were right of course. I could still track you, still monitor you, still kill you if I wanted. But I knew once you were in my palace you would eventually run into one of my guards…or myself, how fortunate for both of us that it was the latter."

Blackfire then stepped up to me, so close that we were only inches apart, her purple eyes boring into my clear red ones.

_Number 72…my friend…is dead._

"I know how you must feel about me, Number 36."

_He's dead because of you!_

"I know you hate me, that you wish me dead."

_I don't wish it, I __**know**__ it. You will die. I will kill you. Not quickly, not painlessly. You will die how my friend died._

"But allow me to offer you one last proposition; you remember what those are correct? You bring me your former comrades: Fixit and Red-X and I will release you and See-More, and even keep up my end of our previous agreement and free your other teammates. How does that sound?"

_Blackfire. Number 26. My life is not yours. My choices are not yours. Not any longer. You are the prey and I am the predator. I am your darkness. I am your fear. I am your murderer. You know nothing of what I learned from our master. You broke Number 72's heart and left him to die. And he died. And I killed our master. And now, I will kill you. I swear it._

With a smile, I nodded.

**XXXXXX**

Beastboy woke back up with a groan. He had been grateful when his body finally let him sleep, but quickly was starting to regret it when he tried to move his arms and legs, only to find that they had went numb in his awkward, imprisoned position.

He tried not to think as he rolled his shoulders and moved his toes to try and get some feeling back. Normally he was very good at that, the not thinking. Just hand him a controller or a remote and he was all but gone from the world.

But he had no controller. No remote. Not even friends.

He gritted his teeth.

No don't think. Don't think. _Don't think._

_You sold them out. You told him everything. They are going to be captured-or worse, all because of you._

Don'.

_Do you think she'd be happy you did this for her?_

Beastboy looked up to see Raven still imprisoned in that glass cylinder across the room. Impossibly she still had the energy to beat her body against the walls. But he knew it wasn't her. He had seen those red eyes of hers before. Something must have driven her over the edge.

_And what do you think she will do to you when she finds out what you did?_

"Don't think…" Beastboy moaned. His throat was still sore after spending hours crying before finally falling asleep. "Don't…"

"Aw man…I think we took a wrong turn somewhere…"

"I think you might be correct."

Beastboy jumped at the sudden, but slightly familiar voices. He looked around the room but all he could see was darkness. He didn't have to wonder long however because the figures of Fixit and See-More suddenly stepped into the light that surrounded his cell.

"Well what do we have here…" Fixit mused as he looked down on Beastboy. See-More meanwhile was moving his head back and forth.

"Where?" He asked out loud, Beastboy noticed with a grimace that See-More's large eye seemed to be missing from his face.

"Turn around." Fixit assisted. See-More did so and Beastboy physically flinched when See-More's eyes suddenly became visible again…only it was on the back of his head now.

"Oh man! Both of the Titan's we captured are here!"

"So it seems…" Fixit spoke before kneeling down so that he and Beastboy were eye level. "Tell me…Beastboy…have any of the Tameranians spoken to you…specifically this one?" He then indicated the unconscious body that he had strapped on his back. Beastboy instantly recognized the flowing red hair and immediately had to force the image of the alien kissing him out of his head.

"No." Beastboy muttered, turning his head away from Fixit, "And even if I did I wouldn't tell you guys."

"Beastboy, there really is no need for the chivalry. We both know I can get the truth out of you one way or another."

Beastboy let out another groan, this time of frustration.

"Well if you're going to mess with my head than just do it already! I don't have all day." Beastboy shouted, staring straight into Fixit's blank eyes. Fixit stared back at him without speaking. Seconds seemed to stretch on like eternities.

"I do not believe I need to." Fixit finally spoke, standing back up to his full height. "It would be in our best interest that we work together-"

"Work together!" Beastboy repeated venomously, "It's all because of _you_ guys that me and Raven are trapped here! Because of you guys I…"

_DON'T THINK._

"Ah. So it seems they wanted information out of you after all." Fixit mused as Beastboy's head fell. "Beastboy. Tell me what you told them. The damage has been done but perhaps-."

"The damage has been done…" Beastboy muttered, head still down.

"Just as I said. But if you would let me continue…"

Fixit stopped however when See-More placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey man…" See-More whispered, nodding the back of his head towards the Titan. Fixit looked from See-More back to Beastboy, just in time to see his green head rise back up, tears streaming down his face.

"I killed them." Beastboy whispered, fighting for control over his voice, his wet, green eyes fixed on the figure across the room, "I couldn't save Rae and I killed them…"

"What are you saying?" Fixit questioned red eyes never leaving the figure. "What did you tell them?"

"I told them where our Tower was!" Beastboy shouted suddenly, looking from Fixit to the alien strapped to his back, a sudden fierceness broke through the sadness. "He gave me a choice. Either he killed Rae or I told them where the Tower was. And I told him…I told him! And he said…he said they would…"

"What did he say?" Fixit pressed.

See-More stood still and silent behind him, his hand slowly falling from Fixit's shoulder. He could see. Even using his broken x-ray vision to peer through his head he could see the Titan, see his eyes, thick with tears.

He could see the anger, the hatred, but underneath he could see more.

The sadness, the hopelessness, but, most of all, he could see the complete consumption of loss.

**XXXXXX**

"I cannot begin to thank you for allowing me an audience, my king." Blackfire greeted, bending on her knee before the very large Tamaranian man sitting on the throne.

"Blackfire, I only grant you this audience because you proclaim that our planet is in grave danger. Do not waste my, nor my people's time any longer."

Blackfire stared at the heavy braces that bound her hands, doing her best to ignore the thousands of hated eyes that glared at her in that throne room. She remembered the day her sister was dragged from this very room in these very cuffs oh so long ago. She was arrested for such a horrid crime but still managed to escape, and how easy did her care taker forgive her, how easy the people of Tamaran forgave her. Granted it wasn't really _her_ fault, but still.

"As you wish, great king." Blackfire replied, looking up so that she and the king's eyes were locked. She could feel the presence of the two guards on either side, her guards; she had to fight back a smile. So much was already under her control, right under the great fool's nose. He was not fit to lead their people, not if he would be _this_ easy to over throw.

"Citizens of Tamaran." Blackfire announced, looking around the room without looking at any of their faces, "I come before all of you, kneeled and humbled, I know I do not deserve your attention, let alone your forgiveness, but it has come to my attention that we are being attacked."

A disturbed rumble went through the crowd of Tamaranians. The king remained silent, his small eyes never leaving Blackfire. How she always hated that demeaning look of his, ever since she was a child…

"Who is attacking us!" A few cried from the crowd.

"Should we prepare defenses!" Cried another.

"It is already too late for _any_ of that!" Blackfire declared, rising from her kneeled position, purple eyes glaring straight up to the throne. "For our great king has delayed in hearing me out-!"

"Blackfire…" the great Tamaranian warned, the guards place a hand on either shoulder. She had to hold back another smile; it was all just for appearances.

"Do you all wish to know who is attacking us? What damage they have _already_ done?" She questioned in a loud voice, though it was apparent in her eyes who she was really talking to.

"Yes, tell us!" Cried many of the Tameranians.

"Why tell…" Blackfire spoke, nodding to a guard who stood near the large throne room doors, "…when I can show you."

Immediately a large image suddenly appeared in the middle of a room. It was a virtual screen with a building, shouldering and crumbled on a small island. Blackfire remembered the stories her dear sister shared with their care giver about Earth. About the wonderful home she had. She watched as the great king's mouth fell open in horror.

"To many of you, this will not look familiar." Blackfire continued, looking around the room, every Tamaranian eye was on the screen, "This, my fellow Tamarans, was the home of the illustrious Teen Titans or, more importantly, the home of our dear princess, and my beloved sister, Starfire!"

A louder, more hectic disturbance rang through the crowd. But the king's voice drowned out all others.

"What is the meaning of this, Blackfire!" He shouted, standing up from his throne, looking ever larger, "What has happened to my…to Starfire?"

Blackfire looked back at him. Her face unfazed by his outburst. She could finally see the look in his eyes, the demeaning gaze replaced by one of fear.

"She is dead, my king." Blackfire answered solemnly. The great king fell to his massive knees and the Tameranians went into an immediate uproar. Shouting, crying, wailing. They cried out for justice, they cried out for those that did this. Blackfire did not, could not answer for the sound of their sadness and anger consumed the palace room.

It was not until the king raised one giant hand that the Tamarans fell silent.

"Blackfire." The king spoke, his once loud and commanding voice now soft, weak. Blackfire saw tears in his eyes, though the look in them was fierce. "Tell us. Who did this to Starfire."

This time Blackfire smiled.

"My king. If you would only allow me to lead you, I have already taken the liberty in capturing but a few of the murderers."

The king's eyes widened as he stood up.

"Who?" He demanded, already making his way down the steps of the throne room, "Who did this to her?"

"You might remember a few of them, my king." Blackfire answered as he watched his approach, "You allowed a few of them, even their leader, to accompany Starfire in her marriage that had so unjustly been ruined.

The king suddenly stopped in his approach. His anger suddenly overclouded by a stronger emotion.

"You don't mean…"

"But I do." Blackfire hissed, hiding a final smile behind a mask of anger, "The very same people who killed our beloved princess are the ones you let her leave Tamaran with…the Teen Titans!"

**XXXXXX**

**To Be Continued…**

**XXXXXX**


	20. Teamwork

**The Wicked One**

**Chapter 20: Teamwork**

**XXXXXXXX**

How badly did she want to grip them in her hands, to tear away the flesh, to bathe herself naked in their blood. How easy it would be. How _infuriating _it was that they were so close and yet she could not reach them. She could _smell _them, the stink of their fear, the rich blood coursing through their veins. But try as she might she could not free herself from this prison of light. It would not sway, though she beat it longer than she could remember.

She could see him much more clearly now. He stood right up beside her prison, that pathetic look in his eyes. That sense of loss, the sadness. He was pathetic. He did not know anything about loss. He didn't lose his entire people. He didn't have a demon for a father; he did not have a mother who abandoned him. He had _nothing _to be sad for yet he dare stand before her, tears in his eyes mouth calling her name.

She shouted obscenities at him. Cried the countless ways she would torture him as he slowly died. How she would tear out those sad eyes. How she would bite off his green frown. But he just stood there looking at her. How she _hated _him. All he did was annoy, make jokes, and ruin her life. He was nothing but a green stain. He needed to be _**wiped away!**_

"_**I will kill you Beastboy!"**_ Raven shouted as she beat herself against the prison, red eyes gleaming at the green teen, _**"And I will bring you back and kill you again and again until I have grown bored of watching you die you pathetic little human filth!"**_

"She does not seem to be taking too kindly to you." Fixit commented as he and See-More stepped up beside the Titan.

"You can hear her?" Beastboy asked, not looking away from Raven, "I've got like super hearing and _I_ can't even hear her!"

"I can read her lips." Fixit stated simply.

"Well…what is she saying about me?"

"You don't want to know."

Beastboy gazed sadly at his friend as she continued to beat herself against the prison, glaring down at him, screaming at him. Her forehead seemed to be dripping with blood.

"I've seen her like this before." Beastboy spoke out loud, "But she only gets this way when she loses control of her emotions, and Raven's normally really good at doing stuff like that…something must have really sent her over the edge…"

See-More glanced over to Fixit, remembering how Raven went all demon on them almost right after he had tried to delve into her mind. If Fixit noticed he didn't make any indication.

"Well regardless if you want to take her with us we need to discern how to break her from this."

"From the prison?" Beastboy asked as he made his way to a nearby panel, "Maybe pressing a few of these buttons might do the trick…"

Though before he could move further Fixit stepped in his path. "We break her from whatever is causing this level of uncontrollability, then we break her from the prison."

"Oh…right…that would be a better idea…"

"But how are we supposed to snap her outta this?" See-More questioned out loud, even through the back of his head the force of Raven's red eyes sent chills through his spine, "I mean…she looks pretty mad…"

"Beastboy, you said she has been like this before, how has she been broken from this state the previous times?"

"Uhhh…" Beastboy scratched his chin, appearing to be in deep thought, "Actually it's usually one of us, her friends, that manage to snap her out of it. I remember one time Raven was about to drag Dr. Light into some darkness under her cloak but then Robin called her name and it snapped her out of it!"

"But if we can't hear her I'm guessin' that probably means she won't be able to hear us either…" See-More mused.

"That does cause complications." Fixit agreed.

"We could always free her from the prison fir-."

"No!" Said Fixit and See-More in unison.

"Okay okay! It was just a suggestion…"

The three then stood there in silence, apart from the repeated dull thuds of Raven's body impacted the wall. Beastboy continuously had to flinch away whenever his gaze strayed over to her.

"We should get moving." Fixit finally stated, "If we cannot find a way to calm her then there is no sense in staying. The Tamaranian could wake any moment and there are bound to be patrols that will discover us if we remain."

"No way!" Beastboy cried immediately, "I have to help Raven; I can't just leave her here!"

"You can and you will." Fixit responded coldly, "You are our guide out of here and you will lead us by your own will or by mine."

"You know, I am getting pretty sick of you threatening to take control of my head," Beastboy hissed, eyes leering dangerously.

"Oh? Well I shall take over your mind Beastboy. And do not think I won't simply send you straight into the hands of the Tamarans once I am safely out of this dungeon."

"Uhhh…Fixit?" See-More whispered as the Titan's hands curled into fists. See-More wasn't sure how much power Fixit still had without his arms but he knew for sure that _he_ was completely useless right now.

"I am not leaving without Raven." Beastboy spoke finally, his eyes never leaving Fixit. See-More could see the determination, the confidence. Fixit suddenly let out a mechanical sigh, he could see it as well.

"Well, I suppose there is no choice."

Suddenly thick mechanical wires shot out of Fixit's body and in less than a second See-More felt himself lift from the ground and turned so that the back of his head was facing the Titan, though See-More was still looking through the front of his head where he could see Fixit staring back into him.

_I'm sorry. _Fixit mouthed.

Pain suddenly exploded in See-More's head as he felt the wires bore into his mechanical equipment linked to the nerves in his brain. The thief let out a cry the same instant a great wave of sound erupted from the back of his head—hitting Beastboy directly, as well as the mechanical panel that he stood beside.

The panel exploded in a shower of sparks, and as Beastboy flew back he expected to make contact with the light prison he had been standing right in front of. But he kept on flying back as if it wasn't there. Shocked, he looked around, the moment locked in a kind of eerie slow motion. He looked up as he flew through the prison, Raven's prison, Raven stood there, robe extended several meters longer than its actual size, hood concealing everything but four glowing red eyes and a very large and toothy smile.

"Crap."

Mid-flight Beastboy hastily morphed into a humming bird, narrowly dodging a black tentacle as it slammed into the ground very near to the green bird as it hummed away. Raven let out a roar of anger before fixing her attention at Fixit, immediately sending a few of her tentacles his way. Wires still imbedded in the now unconscious See-More the mechanic did not have much room to maneuver. Fixit ducked, avoiding one of the tentacles but just as he managed to pull the wires out from See-More's head two more dark tendrils hit him squarely in the chest, sending him straight against the wall. Sparks flew from his body as the blackness held him aloft, pinned against the hard stone walls of the prison.

"It is such a shame that you are so empty of blood." Raven hissed as her elongated body approached her prey, "Even when I twist…I sink deeper, there is no blood, not even pain."

"You are only wasting your time if you are trying to draw such reactions from me, Raven." Fixit informed nonchalantly.

"Is that so?" Raven answered with a twisted smile, "Well I suppose I can still enjoy ripping you into tiny scrap-!"

The demoness was cut off however when a great green gorilla sudden landed on her back. With a roar of fury the animal used one large hand to pull down Raven's hood while the other arm wrapped around her neck.

With a cry of anger Raven fell back, the dark tentacles leaving Fixit's body, allowing the mechanic to sink to the ground. The two Titans fought for control for several moments; Raven swinging around madly as Beastboy held on as long as he could. All the while numerous objects: metal, pieces of the wall, weapons, all cloaked in black energy flew across the room in random directions.

"I was wondering when you would stop cowering!" Raven roared as Beastboy tried to hold on, "And now you fight me like the pathetic beast that you are!"

Suddenly the green gorilla itself was encased in blackness.

"Found you!"

Beastboy felt himself instantly lose hold of Raven as his body soared through the air, hitting a wall, the noise of the impact echoing loudly in the expansive prison room. As soon as he hit the ground Beastboy morphed into a cheetah, attempting a hasty escape, only to have the blackness catch him again. The Titan felt himself fly into the air, this time making contact with the ceiling. As he fell again, Beastboy, still dazed, attempted to morph again, but instead of turning into an animal that could fly he found himself in the shape of an ox. The heavy animal quickly hit the floor again, and this time Beastboy didn't have the strength to get back up.

"Aww did the poor little green man not get the animal he wanted?" Raven taunted as she approached the fallen oxen. "Let's see…did Beastboy want to be…a bird?"

And suddenly Beastboy was a crane, lying beaten and bruised on the ground, feathers everywhere.

"No? Perhaps you thought you were sly? Perhaps a fox?"

A green fox now lay on the ground, looking up at Raven, looking for mercy, for anything that was once Raven.

"Now with eyes like that I would think you were trying to be a dog!"

A green dog whimpered at her, begging her in his language to stop.

"Oh do my forced transformations hurt you? Perhaps if you had no bones…"

A green eel than began to flop around on the ground, it tried to use its electricity but with no water…

"Something wrong Beastboy? Having trouble breathing? My…that is a shame…"

Then Beastboy was a simple fish. It flopped around for awhile before finally lying still, its body heaving, trying to take in the water that wasn't there. It's single wide eye gazing up at the Raven that only smiled down proudly at him.

"And so the great Titan dies how he lived. Pathetic and alone!"

Fixit sat against the wall, not moving since being pinned by Raven, and not from a lack of wanting to. He could see the Tamaran with the long red hair, the one that flew off his back when Raven had attacked him, the one that was now awake and reaching for a communicator on his wrist.

"Blackfire get to the prison cell now! The prisoners are escaping! They-!"

The alien was cut off however as black tentacles suddenly struck down, piercing the Tameranian's body in multiple places. He did not even have time to scream.

"How irritating." Raven commented as the tentacles held the limp body up in the air, she then looked to where the fish was only to find that it had disappeared, "And you even managed to let my prey escape…"

One of the tentacles suddenly tore off an arm from the dead Tamaran.

"How…very…_irritating."_ Raven hissed as the tentacles pulled off limb after limb before finally twisting off the alien's head and letting all the parts splatter to the floor. "Your blood is not even fit to drink, _pathetic!_"

"_**BEASTBOY**__!" _Raven suddenly cried out in a fit of rage, "Come and face me you spineless coward! Let me tear free that smug little head from your weak and useless body!"

More and more pieces of debris bathed in black broke from the walls only to be hurtled back into them. Fixit knew it wasn't long before the entire structure came crashing down, or until Raven turned her attention back to him. The mechanic searched his mind, his memory, scanned over every piece of data, anything that could lead to a clue on to how to stop Raven. Surprisingly it wasn't long before an idea occurred to him, though even he had to admit it wasn't going to be easy to pull off.

"_Beastboy."_ Fixit thought, using what limited power he had to project his mind into the room around him, _"Beastboy. Can you hear me?"_

Silence followed for several moments and Fixit was about to try again when a hesitant voice suddenly replied: _"Uh…Hello?"_

"_Beastboy, you need to listen to me carefully. I know of a way we can stop Raven."_

"_Um…is this like…my conscious speaking?"_

"_Beastboy listen to my voice. It is Fixit."_

"_Oh…well I have nothing to say to __**you.**__"_

"_You do not need to speak, just listen-."_

"_No __**you**__ listen! Ravens loose because of you dude! Because you attacked me! And now I don't even know…I don't even know if I can save her!"_

"_Beastboy-."_

"_No! I'm done listening to you! Just leave me alon-!"_

"_Beastboy you have to kiss her."_

Silence stretched in between the two. Fixit glanced to where Raven still stood, still yelling and throwing objects in her blind rage as she searched for her fellow Titan.

"_I…what?"_

"_It is the only way."_

"_Dude! What the heck does kissing her have to do with breaking her free from that crazy demon!"_

"_She is being ruled by emotion right now. By Anger. The only chance to break her from one emotion is to fight it with another."_

"_But…I don't think she…likes me like that…"_

"_It does not have to be love. Surprise is as good as any emotion, anything that will shake her foundation of anger that she has built up around herself."_

"_But…but…she'll kill me! Even if this works she'll kill me for kissing her!"_

"_That is a risk I am willing to take."_

"…_and you're sure this'll work?"_

"_Positive."_

"…_Agh! No way dude! I can't do it! She's too scary and creepy looking!"_

"_If you do not kiss her she will forever remain that way."_

"_But…but...but…dude…I…oh man."_

Silence was again fell between the two. But it only lasted for a second. Out of nowhere Beastboy suddenly appeared before Raven and before the empath had time to react he threw his hands around her and pressed his lips up against hers.

"_Oh man oh god oh man I'm kissing her I'm going to die I'm going to die!"_

"_Beastboy there is no more need to project your thoughts-."_

Fixit stopped projecting his own thoughts however when he noticed a black aura begin to take over Beastboy's feet.

"_Oh no oh no her eyes are still red she's still mad she's going to kill me oh dude she's going to kill me!"_

"_Beastboy try to relax, be more intimate in your kiss."_

The blackness began to trail up Beastboy's legs.

"_You relax! More intimate! I need to get out of here!"_

"_No! If you try to escape you will only ensure your death."_

"_But…how…"_

"_Use your tongue."_

"_What! No way! Dude that's completely disgust-!"_

"_In case you cannot feel it her aura is up to your waist now."_

"_Augh! Fine! I put my tongue in now wha- ow!"_

"_What happened?"_

"_Raven bit my tongue! Dude it's bleeding!"_

"_Just relax, it will-."_

Fixit was cut off however when suddenly everything changed in an instant. All the objects and debris caked in blackness suddenly lost their aura and fell to the ground, even the aura that was starting to snake up Beastboy's chest vanished all the while Raven began to shrink until she was back to her normal self, Beastboy still locked in the kiss.

"_Beastboy? Did you succeed? Is Raven sated?"_

No response.

"_Beastboy?"_

Fixit used his now single undamaged eye to zoom in on where Raven and Beastboy still stood until he had a clear view of their faces. It seemed that the pair had switched places with Raven now keeping Beastboy in what appeared to be a very passionate and very deep kiss with Beastboy who had an eternal look of shock plastered on his face. Fixit could only shake his head in disgust.

_Teenagers._

**XXXXXX**

"Gone? What do you mean she's gone?"

"What you got crud in your ears or something? She left, she crumming left!"

"Maybe she had to get more girl stuff…or somethin'..."

Kyd Wykkyd placed a simple piece of paper on the table that they all sat around, written on it, written in hot pink letters, were the words: 'Sorry, it just wasn't working out.'

"She probably just high tailed it and went to saddle up with them Brotherhood o' Evil!" Billy Numerous pointed out, his clones nodding in agreement.

"No way! I tried calling in to those skuzz brains and all they said was that Jinx would never be one of them before they disconnected on me!"

"But then…where would she go…?" Mammoth pressed, his large hands clenching and unclenching.

"Don't ask me!" Gizmo retorted in a huff, folding his arms.

Kyd Wykkyd merely shrugged while the Billy's all collectively scratched their heads and stroked their chins.

Finally, all at once, the HIVE Five turned to their last member and a voice that did not belong to any of them asked:

_Well See-More, did____you__** see**__ anything?_

See-More woke up with a gasp.

"Ah, See-More, good to see you are finally awake." Fixit greeted. See-More immediately tried to see where Fixit was but through one side of his head he could only see a wall while the other side only revealed pitch blackness.

"Fixit? Where are we?"

"To my knowledge we are still in the catacombs of the Tamaranian dungeon. The Titans bound us and placed us in what appears to be an interrogation room."

"Ah man! They aren't gonna leave us here are they?"

"I do not know. While I no longer have the power required to read their minds from this distance I can still sense that they are outside."

"What do you think they are doin'?"

"Deciding what to do with us."

See-More fell silent at that. He could still remember what Raven said to him when she caught him in her room. He was just a bad guy to her. They don't free bad guys or help them escape. They lock away back guys and leave them to rot.

"Fixit, we gotta find a way outta here."

"I am aware of that. However I'm afraid there is nothing more that I can do. You, on the other hand, have everything you need at your disposal."

"Me? But my eye is all smashed up and broken!"

"I would advise you to keep your voice down. You are not broken See-More, although it may be hard to tell in this darkness I have managed to repair you to near full capacity while we have been bound here."

"What? But…how? You don't have any arms…."

"No. But nor do I have blood. But that does not mean I do not bleed when I am damaged. My insides are compromised of microscopic symbiotic robots whose main function is to repair me should I sustain penetrating injuries to my body, I have managed to reprogram them to repair you instead."

"Whoa…wait, what about you then?"

"I will die-."

"What! Wait no you can't die!"

There was a sound of steps coming from outside the dark room.

"Silence See-More. I will die without them, so I have also manually begun downloading myself into you."

"…uh…could you say that again?"

"There is a cord from the base of my skull that I have synced to the components that make up your eye hard ware. I am gradually having my conscious programmed into it."

"But…will I still be…me?"

"You will not even know I am there unless I deem it necessary."

"What's that supposed to mean!"

"There is no time to explain. I am already near completion; I was hoping you would not wake so we could have avoided this conversa-."

Fixit then fell silent just as something very painfully left the back of See-More's head. The thief barely let out a cry of pain before the door suddenly opened and very bright lights filled the entirety of the small room.

"I thought I said to keep quiet." Raven hissed as she and Beastboy stepped into the room. See-More could see now that he was facing one of the bright white walls, he quickly switched his eye to x-ray. At once he was amazed at how clear everything was, usually his x-ray vision just made everything appear black and white and grid like, but he could literally _see _through things now.

He peered through Fixit's head and he could see all the circuitry, all the mechanics that made up his partner's brain, See-More looked further and he could look at all the micro organisms that resided in that circuitry.

_Whoa._

"Uh…is he sleeping?" Beastboy questioned, quickly reminding the thief of the two Titans that stood in the room. He forced his vision to peer past the inner workings of Fixit so that he could see the Titans, just as clearly as if he were standing right in front of them. Suddenly small targeting icons appeared over both Raven and Beastboy's faces, off to the side of See-More's field of vision the two Titan's faces reappeared with lines of text materializing with them, upon closer inspection See-More could read the text which detailed the two Titans…their powers, their strengths and their weaknesses.

_Whoaaaaa._

See-More couldn't remember his eye ever being able to do this much…was this part of what Fixit did when he repaired him?

Suddenly Raven raised one of her hands, a familiar black energy coating the entirety of her appendage, almost instantly the targeting icon captured the energy and relayed a very red warning text:

'**Caution: Avoid At All Costs.'**

_Ah man! What do I do!_ See-More thought to himself, immediately another line of text replaced the previous one, still in red:

'**Recommended Course of Action: Bubble Imprisonment'**

_That would be a good idea if I wasn't bound and if Fixit wasn't in the way…_

"Fixit? Answer me now, I will not ask twice." Raven warned as she raised her energized hand and as See-More desperately tried to figure out what to do next a third line of red text appeared.

'**Caution: Fixit model 3040 has Entered Self Destruct.'**

See-More could suddenly feel something very hot against his body, something coming from Fixit.

"Whoa hey Fixit! Don't explode on me man!" See-More called out as his vision switched back to normal.

"Rae! The other dude is awake!" Beastboy pointed out.

"You guys might wanna get away!" See-More offered before blackness suddenly encased his body and he was in the air, facing the two Titans.

"Seriously man! We should get outta here!"

"We are going nowhere until you answer a few questions for me." Raven hissed.

'**Recommended Course of Action: Shield of Body.'**

See-More agreed with whatever was making these suggestions appear in his vision but Raven had his arms pinned to his body, and she didn't seem ready to release him before Fixit's body went boom. In response yet another line of text appeared:

'**Allow Remote Access: YES or NO'**

"Umm…" See-More muttered.

"Why did you capture me?" Raven questioned bringing See-More closer to her and Beastboy.

"Um…"

"Why are we in Tamaran?"

"Uh…"

"What is Blackfire after?"

"…Yes?"

'**Remote Access Allowed…Fixit has gained control.'**

Suddenly See-More's eye switched gazes on its own, faster than See-More could ever switch them, before stopping on a dime onto...

'**Lens2160: Laser.'**

The line of text appeared for less than a second but as soon as it was gone a red beam of light fired from See-More's eye with the force and speed as though it was fired from a gun. It hit Raven squarely in the chest, sending the young Titan flailing to the ground- the blackness disappearing from See-More's body.

The gazes changed again, moving a mile a minute as See-More landed to the ground.

"Raven!" Beastboy cried before turning to launch an attack at See-More.

'**Lens4128: Hypnotize.'**

Even before Beastboy had time to turn into one of his animals a single shared glance with See-More had him on the floor- fast asleep. See-More did not even have time to understand what just went down before the lenses shifted again.

'**Lens3444: Shield of Body.'**

"Oh crap Fixit!" See-More remembered as he turned to face his partner's body. Just as he did there was a sudden, immense explosion. See-More watched the fire rapidly approaching him just as a light blue light filled his vision, and while the flames did little against his now shielded body the force of the blast still knocked him off his feet and threw him through the air. See-More felt him hit something rather soft before finally flying out the door of the room and against the wall in the hallway outside.

While he felt the wall when he made impact he felt no pain, he could watch the sleeping Beastboy propel out the room, Fixit's body disappearing in the fiery explosion, and the entirety of the room collapsing in on itself without missing a second of it.

_Whoa._

See-More got up slowly. His hands fell over that same soft object he had hit earlier and looking down he saw Raven lying under him, clearly knocked unconscious. Looking further down the hallway he could see Beastboy, still asleep, the same targeting icon went over both the Titan's faces as he looked at them, indicating both of them as little to no threat.

"Aw man I just took out two Titans! If only the guys were here to see this!" See-More called out as he stood up. Just then another flash of red text appeared in his vision:

'**Remote Access Disabled.'**

"Oh yeah, couldn't of done all that without ya Fixit!" See-More admitted, patting his eye ware. Silence followed. See-More was not used to not hearing a stoic and logical response and he couldn't help but look over to the now rubble of a room that Fixit's body disappeared into.

"Sorry 'bout your body, man…"

'**Recommended Course of Action: Escape.'**

"Oh right…I guess we should be getting out of here and find Kyd…"

Yet before See-More could do anything the sound of footsteps could be heard echoing through the hallway- slow yet determined.

"Well, well, what have we here?" A familiar voice questioned. See-More knew this voice…only it was never so…clear.

The thief turned and the targeting icon immediately went over the Tameranian's orange face. Large red warning icons immediately flashed big and red as the name 'Blackfire' appeared over and over again.

"Oh crap…"

"See-more…I must say I am impressed." Blackfire spoke with a smile as her eyes went over the two fallen Titans. "Beastboy _and _Raven? I must say I didn't think you had it in you."

"Well what can I say…I'm full of surprises?" See-More suggested, rubbing his head sheepishly.

'**Recommended Course of Action: **_**Run**_**.'**

See-More felt his stomach drop when that line of text appeared, did Fixit really believe there was no other option? Blackfire's smile only widened.

"Something tells me there is more to it than that." She then looked around the hallway, "Now where are our little partners in crime? Don't tell me you all couldn't get along…after everything we've been through?"

"Well you know bad guys…can't ever really trust em…you know…"

"Oh I do indeed…"

Blackfire then took a step towards him…See-More immediately took a step back.

"You wouldn't have happened to see where they went, See-More?" Blackfire asked as she continued to advance on him all the while See-More continued to step backwards.

"Er…no…this place is like a maze…you know-."

"But you could find them, can't you? I'm sure one of those pretty eyes of yours has a way of finding them."

"H-hey Blackfire what about the plan? W-we should be trying to bust you out of here…remember?"

See-More knew that this entire mission could have been a set-up, that Blackfire planned to have them captured as soon as they arrived on her planet, but he hoped against hope that maybe this wasn't true. Blackfire never lost her smile…that was never a good sign.

"I'm afraid there has been a change in plans."

And See-More saw it. Through all the warning texts, the targeting icons, the list of her bio, he could see straight through those large purple eyes, he could see the pride, the assurance of her position in their situation. But even more he could see her plan, her wish to be something more…to gain _his_ approval.

Just then Blackfire's eyes glanced at something behind See-More, something that could have been missed if See-More blinked…but See-More never blinks.

'**Allow Remote Access: YES or NO?'**

"Yes!" See-More called out and his eye immediately turned so it was at the back of his head, his lenses shifting on their own, all targeting the very large man that had been standing behind him. The desired lens was found as large hands reached down to grab him.

'**Lens777: Eye Ball'**

A large, and very heavy, eye shaped object then shot out like a cannon from See-More's eye and while it hit the large man squarely in the stomach he only let out a very angry grunt.

"Oh-."

See-More immediately jumped out of the way as the alien slammed his fists into the ground where the thief had been standing, the impact shaking the entirety of the hallway.

"You will not escape!" Blackfire cried. See-More looked over to see Blackfire flying like a rocket towards him.

"Oh man!"

The lenses began shifting on their own but See-More knew they wouldn't move fast enough.

"Azeroth Metrion Zinthos!"

A black energy suddenly took hold of Blackfire, stopping her inches from See-More, just as the thief's lenses found their desired one.

'**Lens612: Bubble Imprisonment'**

"Oh no you don't!" Blackfire cried, using her free arm she suddenly fired a purple energy blast from her hand, catching See-More off guard as it hit him and sent him sailing down the hall floor, right at the feet of the very large Tamaranian.

"…Hello again." See-More greeted with a sheepish smile. The large alien only lowered one all encompassing hand.

With no time See-More gripped the dial on the side of his head and fired the lens that Fixit had previously picked. The bubble flew out, capturing the entirety of his attacker's hand and bringing it up until it touched the ceiling. The alien let out a sudden roar of fury and with a show of immense strength brought down his hand, prison ball and all, to smash into See-More.

"Oh crap oh crap!"

See-More slammed down on his dial again, forcing yet another prison bubble to shoot out-making contact with the bubble that was fixing to crush See-More. The impact was quiet yet devastating. The two bubbles simply bounced off one another, sending the one with the large alien's hand sailing back down the hallway, taking the large alien with it, while the other went down the opposite way…right into a certain empath.

As the bubble captured its prisoner the black energy that had Blackfire trapped dissipated. See-More got up as slowly as he could but when he finally did he could see Blackfire still hovering, looking directly at him, smile still on her face.

"Looks like it's just you and m-."

But before she could even finish a spritely, green ram suddenly slammed its head into Blackfire's backside, sending the alien princess face down into the ground.

"Aw yeah whose the ram!" Beastboy called out, striking a pose.

"You da ram!" See-More returned.

"You are going to pay for that." Blackfire swore as she stood back up, eyes and hands glowing a deadly purple.

"With what mone-?" Beastboy tried to ask but he was interrupted by a bolt of purple energy sailing past his head. "Hah! Starfire's a much better shot than you!"

"Shut-up about my sister!" Blackfire roared, hurtling more bolts of energy at the Titan who in turn transformed into a small green humming bird and proceeded to fly around the energy bolts with ease.

"Don't think you can avoid me forever!" Blackfire hissed, suddenly a red hot laser struck her in the back, causing the princess to stumble a few steps. Catching her footing Blackfire turned her fierce purple eyes to the optical thief whose lens was still steaming from the recent blast.

"I don't think he has to." See-More suggested, hand still on his dial.

"Why you-." Blackfire was again interrupted however when a kangaroo of the green variety suddenly appeared behind her and sending a well placed kick on her back sent her to the ground again.

"Aw yeah! Whose the kangaroo!" Beastboy called, this time looking over at See-More.

"You da kangaroo!" See-More replied, striking his own pose this time.

"Alright, fine, if that's the game you want to play…" Blackfire breathed before bringing her wrist up to her mouth, a strange alien device attached to it. "Oh Number36, would you be so kind and help me? The Titans and your little friend seem to have me in quite a bind."

There was no response from the communicator but Blackfire had a victorious smile on her face nonetheless. See-More and Beastboy traded a look, but just as he did See-More suddenly noticed a dark figure appear behind the Titan.

"Uh…green guy?"

Beastboy barely managed to turn his head before the shadowed figure sent a blow to the back of his head, sending the small green Titan to the ground, he didn't get back up. With Beastboy out of the way light finally fell on to the figure that attacked him, revealing a very familiar face covered by a hood and a long black cape.

"Kyd!" See-More called with a wave and a smile, "Hey man you don't need to attack the Titans! They're actually help-."

See-More stopped however as a targeting icon fell over Kyd Wykkyd's head as his teammate looked over at him. Warning signals flashed immediately as the HIVE member regarded See-More with a cocked head.

"…Kyd?" See-More began but then Kyd Wykkyd pulled the cape around him before vanishing. See-More took a step back; he looked over to Blackfire, expecting Kyd to target her next. Instead See-More's lens moved on its own, twisting to the back of his head, where he could see Kyd Wykkyd about to strike him.

"Fixit, wait, stop!" See-More called out, causing Kyd Wykkyd to pause and then jump away as a red laser shot out from See-More's eye. "What are you doing! Kyd's our partner!"

The red warning texts only continued to flash in See-More's eye as the targeting icon kept its focus on Kyd Wykkyd's face. Without warning the laser shot again, this time Kyd Wykkyd used his cape to vanish, the blast hitting the wall with a loud explosion.

"Fixit! Stop it!" See-More demanded.

"Don't you get it yet?" Blackfire asked, now standing up right, one glowing hand pointed at See-More, "You dear comrade is after _you_."

Blackfire then sent out a blast of purple energy that See-More was forced to leap away from, though his vision was thrown off when his lens started to rotate on their own again and he slammed right into the wall.

"Ow!" See-More moaned, rubbing his elbow, his lenses finally stopped and Kyd Wykkyd was standing in his vision again, fist held back.

"Kyd?" See-More asked, looking into Kyd Wykkyd's red eyes, at first he saw nothing, but then there was a flash of emotion, and Kyd Wykkyd paused again in his attack. "Kyd Wykkyd…why are you-?"

But See-More was cut off as a sudden ball erupted from his eye, Kyd Wykkyd was quick enough to avoid it hitting him but when the ball made contact with the wall instead it exploded, ending a wave of primal force outward, sending the two HIVE members off their feet.

Even as See-More was falling his lenses were already shifting again at hyper speed, the blur of images and colors was beginning to make him dizzy. When the lens stopped See-More was on the ground but he was looking down the hallway, he could see Kyd Wykkyd, attempting to get back up, Blackfire, readying to shoot at him again now that Kyd was out of the way, the useless and still unconscious Beastboy, and Raven, meditating in the prison bubble she was still trapped in. The targeting icon went over the latter empath's face and See-More made quick note on which lens Fixit had picked out.

'**Recommended Course of Action: Release Raven.'**

"Aw man…I hope you know what you're doing…" See-More grumbled, though he didn't bother to get up, even with Fixit's help, he wasn't too confident he could take on both Blackfire and Kyd Wykkyd…

_But why?_

With a sigh See-More looked over to Kyd. The two partners in crime shared a glance that lasted only a moment.

"Sorry man…"

See-More then pressed once on the dial and all the prison bubbles returned back to the owner, the one from Raven and the other from…

"You will not save yourself this time, little one." A gruff and angry voice bellowed. See-More turned his head slightly, so that he could see the giant alien, both hands gripped in what looked like one boulder sized fist. The fist was brought down just as Raven woke up from her trance.

"Enough of this." Raven breathed before standing, and still floating she cried out her mantra, "Azeroth Metrion Zinthos!"

And before either Tamaranian could launch their attack, before Kyd Wykkyd could try and escape, and long before Beastboy would awaken, the entire hallway, and its occupants, were consumed by blackness.

**XXXXXX**

_**To Be Continued… **_


	21. Understanding

**The Wicked One**

**Chapter 21: Understanding**

**XXXXXX**

Most of us remained silent as we hung against the blackened walls. The way the blackness held us reminded me of that bearded guy on a cross I seemed to always see hanging on kitchen walls in the houses I used to steal from. Across the room hung 26 and a very large, bearded Tamaranian, the prior had been trying to goad the floating Titan in the center of the room into an argument since we all awoke while the later remained silent as he continually glared at See-More who was hung up on the wall beside me. Not that my fellow thief would ever notice—the blackness having wrapped itself around his single eye.

"Come on Rae, you are going to have to answer me sometime." Number 26 was saying, smiling and looking very confident despite the position we were all in. "My guards are going to find us eventually, and I don't think you can keep us all like this forever."

"No one will find us here." Raven finally answered, though she remained floating Indian style with her eyes closed, "I destroyed that device you had on your wrist—I believe you used it to communicate with your associates?"

_ Amongst other things…_

I caught Number 26's glance in my direction. It was quick, but I caught it. I raised my shoulders slightly and still to my surprise I felt nothing cold and metallic press against my neck and face. The collar…was gone.

_Not that it does me much good right now._

For what felt like the millionth time I tugged against my black restraints, I might as well have been melted into the walls themselves.

"Well then what are your intentions?" Number 26 continued as she now glared at the Titan, smile gone, "Are you just going to keep us here until your powers run dry?"

"Why have you captured us, Blackfire? Why bring us to Tamaran?"

Number 26's smile returned slightly.

"Like I am ever going to tell _you_."

Raven was silent then. Slowly her eyes opened until the clear, black orbs were focused on 26.

"Then I think you and I are through."

And with that the blackness began to pull Number 26 into the wall.

"Wait wai-!" Number 26 cried out but the blackness wrapped around her mouth as it continued to pull her further and further in.

"DO NOT HARM HER!" A great thunderous voice bellowed, I looked over to see it come from the giant Tamaranian who was now pulling against the blackness, strangely looking almost as though he could pull free. "I WILL NOT LET YOU TAKE ANOTHER CHILD FROM ME!"

Raven's eyes focused on him and immediately dark strands reached out from the black walls, but only to hold the alien in place.

"I remember you…" Raven spoke softly, "You're Starfire-."

"I _was_ Koriand'r's k'norfka." The large alien growled, still breathing heavy, "Until you godless cretins…you _Titans_ murdered her!"

Raven looked at the great alien and a brief glimpse of horror overtook her face, but it was quickly erased.

"We did not murder her," Raven insisted, managing to remain calm and stoic, "Starfire is still alive, she-."

"Don't spit your lies at me!" The alien interrupted, glaring even more fiercely at the Titan, "I've seen your tower, I've seen what lows Earth has sunk to gain Tamaran's attention!"

"What are you talking about? What about the tower?"

Number 26 then giggled. I looked over to see that the blackness had removed itself from her mouth, probably because the Titan wasn't as focused any longer.

"Do not think you can play dumb with us little Raven." Number 26 spoke, a smile bigger than ever on her face, "Our spies caught everything that occurred in your precious base…my you all must have really had it out for poor sweet Starfire…going so far as to sick a _dragon _on her…"

"You dare…" the great alien breathed, his entire bearded face consumed with malice as his body fought against the black restraints.

"We didn't…" Raven began but trailed off as a look of surprise and then horror overcame her face as she looked between Number 26 and See-More, and this time it did not go away.

Raven outstretched her hand and suddenly See-More came flying out of the black wall, the previously silent thief letting out a long scream of surprise before stopping short before the Titan's hand, his entire body now encased in blackness.

"Tell me you didn't do it." Raven spoke, her head bowed low and hood up so that none of us could see her face.

"Um…tell you what?" See-More asked nervously as his single eye darted all around the room.

"Tell me…you did not release…the dread dragon…MALCHIOR!" Raven roared the final word before slamming See-More back against the wall, the entirely of the black room vibrated as a result, See-More letting out a horrid scream of pain.

"Rae? Hey Rae, what's going on in there!" A shrill voice asked from right outside the room, the door was sealed in blackness as well.

"H-He is my friend I had to-!" See-More tried to explain until the Titan slammed him into the wall again, See-More let out another cry.

"Raven! Stop it!" the other Titan shouted from outside the room, a banging soon followed but the door remained sealed shut.

"_**What has happened to my home?"**_ Raven demanded in a voice not her own as she rounded on the giant alien, all the while keeping See-More pinned against the wall. The blackness around my own body felt much tighter than before and as I followed Raven's gaze the two Tameranian's didn't look much more comfortable.

The larger one just continued to glare hatefully back at Raven, though I could sense that there was a bit of fear he was battling with now, not that I could blame him. I looked over to 26 only to see the cynical alien smiling now. That same smile I always managed to catch whenever 72 and I used to fight over her. I fought against my restraints to be able to clench my hands.

"Simple, little Raven. Are you still trying to play the innocent card on us?" Number 26 spoke, Raven's dark black eyes immediately rearing on her, "My spies were there, _my_ eyes were there. I saw everything Rae, _you_ were the one who released the dragon, _you_ were the one who ordered him to kill my sweet sister. It is such a shame your little home got caught in the…crossfire."

"You…" Raven began and immediately all of her dark energy began to tighten at once. I could feel it squeezing my insides together, I could see it crushing the walls it had a hold. But suddenly, it all stopped when a great, big, voice boomed over everything.

"**DAMN YOU TITANS!" **The great alien roared louder than ever before, it rang in my ears louder than a police siren, **"I WILL NOT REST, I WILL NOT EAT, I WILL NOT FEEL JOY UNTIL EVERY LAST TITAN IS WIPED OFF THE FACE OF THE UNIVERSE!"**

The massive Titan then seemed to pull at the black bindings, trying to break the Titan's hold through sheer force of will. We all watched in amazement as the dark energy began to free itself from his body. Raven quickly called out her mantra and what looked like thousands of small dark arms reached out and gripped the alien, but he did not get pulled back.

"Starting…" the great alien rumbled as he pulled ever harder, one by one the tiny hands fell off him, Raven then released her grip on See-More and focused both her hands on him, and although the blackness now consumed his body the vibrant white outline of the Tamaran kept pulling, "…with…**YOU!"**

And with a mighty roar that no doubt shook the entire palace the giant alien freed himself from the wall and, while still coated in the black energy, hurled himself into the Titan. The two collided and the force of the blow flew them ever further back, crashing through the wall.

Then it was as if a drain had been pulled, all of the black energy that coated the walls ceiling and floor suddenly disappeared, vanishing through the hole in the wall after their conjurer. The three of us landed just as the door flew open, revealing a very concerned looking green rhino. I had to act fast; already Number 26 had her purple sights on me. So I landed with a run and, without really thinking, I aimed myself at See-More.

My former teammate only had time to look back at me in surprise before I plowed into him. I heard the starbolts from 26 and the frantic roars of the green rhino for only a moment before pulling my cape around us and vanishing into the cold, silent, darkness.

**XXXXXX**

"I just got through talkin' with Titan's East." Cyborg announced as he walked in.

"And?"

"They have a ship, but it's a prototype if anything-."

"Will it fly?"

"No man, Bumblebee says they are months from even trying to fly it."

"Then we try it now-."

"Don't start this with me Robin." Cyborg interrupted, folding his large, metallic, and newly replaced arms, "We aren't going to kill ourselves trying to save BB and Rae, how will that help them?"

"It's our only shot." Robin insisted, standing up from his seat, "The longer we sit around the harder it's going to be to even find them!"

"Dearest Robin…" Starfire spoke up, standing up as well so she could place a gentle hand on her boyfriend's shoulder, "It's my sister who stole them…I can fly to my home planet Tamaran and discover how Blackfire escaped…"

"We've been over this Starfire, I can't let you go alone." Robin replied, rubbing his eyes through his mask, "Knowing Blackfire that's what she would want."

"I can handle my own sister, Robin-."

"It's not just your sister, Starfire!" the boy wonder quickly pointed out, "For all we know she could have all of our old enemies free and working for her."

"I spoke with Jinx as well on my way back; she said Kid Flash checked on the old Brotherhood headquarters, the only bad guy missing was Kyd Wykkyd…"

Robin remained silent at that.

"I know you don't fully trust her," Cyborg went on, "But Jinx agreed to stay in a cell and go through all of the standard interrogations, you were there man, she wasn't lying."

"But it was _her_ old teammates that were with Blackfire when she attacked the tower." Robin finally said.

"Yeah I saw. I also saw Fixit with them to, and I thought he was on our side when we left him. If she managed to convince that guy to work for her I doubt it would've taken much to convince a couple of low-key criminals to tag along to."

"Robin please," Starfire began, turning Robin slightly so that he was facing her, "let me go to my people, if I can just speak with them-."

"I said no Starfire!" Robin interrupted, shrugging off her hands, though he quickly placed a hand on her arm after seeing her hurt expression, "We need to stay together…"

"Robin, I know you don't want to hear this…" Cyborg spoke up after a few moments of silence passed between the two, "But Starfire might be our best shot."

Cyborg said this as he was looking through a screen on his forearm.

"I am starting to get replies from the rest of the Honorary Titans and it doesn't look like any of them have ships of their own…and of course the Justice League is too busy with their own problems to even bother with a reply."

Starfire felt Robin's hand tighten slightly on her arm; she could tell his gaze was focused on the ground. She didn't need to see his face to tell that he was upset.

"Dearest Robin…" Starfire whispered, placed a soft hand on the side of his face so that he would look up at her.

"Starfire…you can't…" Robin began before Starfire placed her hand over his mouth.

"Please, silence yourself for but a moment."

Robin nodded as he continued to gaze up at her.

"Dearest Robin," Starfire repeated, she then brushed aside a few stray bangs that had made their way to his face. With their Tower all but gone their fearless leader no longer had the time or the equipment to keep his hair up, even if he wanted to. "You mean more than both of our worlds to me."

"Uhhh…" Robin mumbled, his face getting red before he looked over at Cyborg, only to see that his friend was already in the middle of leaving.

"I'll be in the other room." Cyborg quickly said before making his way out. He looked as uncomfortable as Robin felt.

"Starfire, really-." This time Starfire clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Please, just listen." And while Robin nodded Starfire did not move her hand, just in case, "I care for you deeply Dearest Robin, and I know you feel so for me. This is why you fear for my safety, but know that you are blinded in your concern for me. Friend Raven and Friend Beastboy are in trouble and you must allow me to save them, you must not be blinded by your emotions. Is this not what you taught me when we first started to do the dating?"

Starfire waited for Robin to nod, he did so slowly.

"Then let me do this. My people will help me to find my sister and her…how you say…accomplices?" Another nod from Robin, "Yes, I will find them and with my peoples help we will stop them. You understand yes? I shall not be alone and I shall not let Blackfire nor her…accomplices take me by surprise, I shall remain vigilant and I shall promise to check in with you frequently."

Robin looked into her green eyes as she spoke and when she finished he placed a hand on the wrist of her hand that kept his mouth closed. Starfire smiled gently as she removed her hand. The two then stood there in silence for a good few seconds before Robin finally sighed and keeping his fists clenched and head facing the ground he mumbled:

"You have to _really_ promise that you will keep m- Cyborg and I frequently updated-."

"Oh dearest Robin I promise!" Starfire interrupted, wrapping the Titans leader in a fierce hug, which she quickly released when Robin began to squirm in pain.

"Every fifteen minutes…at least." Robin continued, following after Starfire as the orange girl made her way out of the police department's waiting room, "We'll keep looking for a ship so we can be with you as soon as possible…so please be care-."

"Dearest Robin, I already promised I shall remain vigilant." Starfire interrupted, turning to face him, they were outside now, the cold night air whipping at Robin's torn and frayed cape. Starfire then pulled him into a hug, this one much softer and before the boy wonder knew it he could feel his girlfriend's soft lips against his. Caught off guard Robin quickly returned it, though the kiss was still broken sooner than he would have liked.

Eyes still closed he felt Starfire's lips brush against his ear.

"I must go now." Starfire whispered, "Please tell friend Cyborg goodbye for me, and be safe Dearest Robin."

"You to Star…" Robin replied, but when he opened his eyes Starfire was gone.

**XXXXXXX**

"That dragon Malchior is still nowhere to be found." Cyborg spoke up after Robin had returned to the waiting room and sat down. "You'd think it'd be easier to find a bus sized, flying lizard."

"You'd think." Robin agreed with a simple shrug as he sank back against his seat, his unseen eyes focused to the ground.

"You know Titan's East offered us to bunk up with them until we have time to fix the tower. I wouldn't mind stayin' with the twins and I'm sure you and Speedy have a lot of hair gel secrets to catch up on."

He threw his friend a playful smirk but he wasn't even sure if Robin caught it.

"You can go if you want, I'm fine where I am, I wouldn't want to burden them."

"You know I'm not gonna just leave you here by yourself."

Robin only shrugged in reply.

Cyborg sighed. Their leader was impossible to deal with anymore if Starfire wasn't around. The two sat in silence in the dark room for what felt like hours. Cyborg was lucky that his room remained mostly intact after that battle with the dragon. He made sure he had enough backup power so that he wouldn't need to sleep for the next week or so, and he knew Robin was a master at staying up through the nights. This could turn into a very long night of silence if he couldn't think of something to say.

"Beastboy and Raven will be okay." Cyborg said at last, though he wasn't all that sure why he said it. None of them had really sat down and talked since their friends were taken, for Cyborg at least the past few days had just been a blur of communicating with other Titans and trying to track down any known leads. Sadly what few criminals that weren't frozen statues had nothing to do with Blackfire or her plan, whatever it was.

"I'm not worried about them." Robin replied, breaking Cyborg from his train of thought.

"You're not?" Cyborg asked, genuinely surprised. Robin shook his head.

"They are both very capable fighters, and whatever Blackfire has planned I don't think it involves hurting them…well…at least not killing them."

"And why do you think that? You know something I don't?"

Robin shrugged again.

"Not really. But Blackfire fits the bill of an intellectual manipulator. She could just be using Beastboy and Raven as hostages to keep us from going after her."

"So…sending Starfire might be a bad idea after all?"

"Maybe…but unless she can contact Starfire before she reaches her home planet she won't be able to stop her from joining with her people, then Blackfire will be at a major disadvantage."

"But Blackfire has Raven's communicator…if she's somehow keepin' tabs on us she'll know that Starfire is heading for their planet, she'll be able to get to Starfire before she can make it."

"Not unless Starfire doesn't have this." Robin replied, holding up a Titan's communicator in his hand. For some reason Cyborg was expecting some kind of cocky grin, there wasn't one.

"Dude…that isn't-."

"It is."

"What are you thinking? Without that-."

"Starfire won't be able to contact us—I know." Robin quickly interrupted, "But you remember how the Brotherhood of Evil got to us, the communicators are a double edged sword, if Blackfire managed to reconfigure them like the Brain did not only would she be able to contact Starfire, she'd also have the capability of hunting her down."

Cyborg sat there, head in his hands for another moment or two, before looking back up at his leader.

"Look, I get why you did it, but now if Star gets in trouble how are we even gonna know about it?"

"Because I placed a tracker on her about the same time I stole her communicator." Robin said, this time there was a faint ghost of a smile on his lips as he finally looked up at Cyborg, "It's that new one you built that syncs up with your systems."

"You mean the one I had locked up in my room?"

"Well the lock was broken after that fight with Malchior and I thought we might need it sometime soon."

"…aw man, don't tell me you knew Starfire was going to go off on her own this whole time…"

"I just knew I wouldn't be able to stop her if she did." Robin said simply with a third shrug.

"So the next best thing is to steal her communicator and stick her with my tracker like she's one of the bad guys?"

"…yes."

"Dang Robin, I can already tell you two are going to have a nice, long, and loving relationship."

"Starfire will understand when I explain it all to her."

"Yeah, not that you'd be able to do much explaining without her communicator."

Robin looked back over at Cyborg.

"Wait…what about your tracker?"

"What? No…"

Robin's face went white. Cyborg stared back, his expression blank for only a moment.

"Are you serious man? Why would I build a tracker that would allow me to communicate the guy I'm trying to find!" Cyborg exclaimed, "So I could be all like, 'hey bad guy mind sitting around a bit so I can catch up'?"

"Okay, okay I get your point." Robin replied, pinching the bridge of his nose, "But are you saying there is no way we can get in contact with Starfire now?

"Don't get me wrong, that tracker you put on her is probably the most state of the art device ever made. I can pinpoint her location anywhere on Earth and even anywhere our T-Ship has been, so as long as she's heading to Tamaran we'll know exactly where she is…but as far as we are concerned she is on her own."

Robin sat in silence then, fingers interlocked, his gaze obviously elsewhere. Cyborg long understood these as signs that his friend was in a very deep train of thought. It was soon broken when Robin focused back on his teammate across the room.

"Are there any other Titans that can go into space without a ship?"

"You see I was just thinking the same thing…but the strange part is…" Cyborg then pulled up different monitor on his other arm, the one that acted as a communicator, "The only guy I could think of is that Herald dude—you remember, the guy with the trumpet thing?" Robin nodded. "Yeah anyways, he hasn't exactly been talkative since the fight with the Brotherhood, but he also hasn't answered any of my calls when I was contacting the Titans for info about what happened with BB and Rae…"

"Something must have happened to him…" Robin mused.

"That or we made a pretty bad first impression." Cyborg replied, switching off the communicator.

The two then sat in silence again for another few minutes until Robin suddenly stood up.

"Are there any villains that can enter space?" The boy wonder asked, looking over at Cyborg expectantly.

"Uhh, a few maybe, why? You don't expect we can just unfreeze them and ask politely for help do you?"

"We won't need to ask them, we just need to ask a Titan." A smile then crept on Robin's lips.

"What-." Cyborg began when the same revelation hit him. "Oooh."

"What is the status of the T-car?"

"A little banged up, but nothing a little elbow grease and a few hours in the shop won't fix." Cyborg replied, now standing up to.

"Well we better get started then." Robin stated, making his way out of the police doors.

"Uh Robin, you sure we should leave?" Cyborg questioned, motioning to the small gathering of police officers that were knocked out in the corner of the room, "What about those guys?"

"I didn't hit them hard; they should be awake with only minor headaches in a few hours."

"You know, we're going to eventually have to explain why a dragon flew out our tower and nearly destroyed half the city…"

Robin's eyes were on the ground again, he glanced over at the cuffs that lay broken near the chair legs.

"I know, Cyborg, let's just deal with one disaster at a time though, alright?" He then looked up at his friend to see the half metal man looking back at him before Cyborg gave him a helpless smile and shrug.

"Whatever you say man, the sooner this nightmare is over the sooner I can go back to sleep in hopefully one piece. Now let's go save Raven and the grass stain."

Robin nodded and with that the two remaining Titans left the police station.

**XXXXXX**

_The 36__th__ child that I took_

_The 36__th__ mother that I shook_

_The 36__th__ father I killed with a hook_

_How frightened do you look_

_Oh 36__th__ child that I took_

_Do your eyes be spoiled?_

_Do your pants be soiled?_

_On how little I toiled_

_How hot the bodies boiled_

_They tasted oh so sweet_

_Red blood and raw red meat_

_You sat there at my feet_

_Watched me as I eat_

_Eyes unspoiled_

_Nor pants even soiled_

_A smile you had, on that bright face_

_A smile, I dare, I shall not waste_

_We took you, She and I, with great haste_

_To new home, new friends, and new life…to taste_

"Fixit, wait man, just wait!" See-More cried out almost as soon as we flew from the darkness. The momentum carried through my teleportation, sending See-More bounding onto the large, soft bed, and I face down on the hard stone floor.

I glanced up from my painful position to see See-More seemingly struggling with himself, or more accurately, his large mechanical eye, on top of the bed. I considered trying to help him in some way when he suddenly cried:

"Kyd! Don't let me see you! Fixit's in control right now and he's trying to kill you man! He thinks you're the enemy!"

With that fair warning I kept my body firmly against the ground, while keeping both eyes on my former teammate as he thrashed around the bed. Various large, plush pillows fell like rain from the bed as he struggled, the great purple blankets thrashing around like they were alive.

"Fixit! Cut it out man, it's cool, _we're_ cool!" See-More was saying between grunts, "Look let's just- no wait! Don't shoo-!"

See-More was suddenly cut off when a bright red laser suddenly fire out from his eye. I watched as See-More lost control of the eye. It immediately swiveled on its own when it was free of See-More's hands, the laser moving across the room with it, searing through furniture and paintings as it went. I immediately rolled across the floor and under the bed, hoping that I wasn't caught. The piercing sound of the laser stopped then, and I was about to let out a breath of relief when See-More's voice suddenly cried:

"Kyd Wykkyd! He switched to x-ray! He knows you're under the-!"

See-More was cut off again as the laser kicked back on, scorching through the bed and hitting the spot I had just been hiding less than a second ago. I stood up as soon as I rolled from under the bed. I could see See-More desperately try to remain lying on the bed, but as the laser cut through beneath him the giant piece of furniture finally cave in on itself. The laser immediately stopped but I barely had time to grip my cape before See-More's eye repositioned itself to face me. The laser fired just as I pulled the cape around me, immediately I felt a white hot pain reverberate from my right ear. I reappeared from the darkness hitting one of the bedroom walls, though the impact was nothing compared to the pain coming from my ear, I reached up to grip it only to feel nothing there.

What remained of my cowl fell down around my neck, the part that once concealed my now missing ear was gone to. I screamed silent screams of pain. Though I did not have long to mourn my loss.

"Kyd Wykkyd! He found you again!" See-More cried and I leapt without really looking, narrowly avoiding another laser to the face.

"Fixit, stop it! Just…REMOTE CONTROLL OFF!"

Suddenly the laser noise vanished again. I immediately jumped back up, preparing to vanish again, but when my eyes found See-More my fellow thief was lying amongst the rubble of bed, his eye was looking back at me, but not with the intention to kill.

"I'm sorry man…so sorry…Fixit…I turned him off." See-More spoke through heavy gasps of air. I could only nod back before falling back on my butt. Subconsciously I reached for my ear again, hoping against hope it might have come back. All I felt was a singed nub before the pain forced me to retract my probing fingers.

"Oh man!" See-More exclaimed, I looked over to see that he had noticed my missing part as well, "Did Fixit really blow off your ear! Aw man I'm so sorry, so so so sorry!"

See-More then carefully stood up amongst the splintered remains of bed and made his way over to me. I gripped the cloak with one hand but See-More quickly held up his own hands in defense.

"Hey man, it's okay, it's okay, really, I turned Fixit off, I'm back in control now."

I looked back at my teammate with a raised eyebrow, using one hand to cup over the burning stub of ear. I was hoping it wouldn't take him long to realize that I was missing something…besides my ear.

"…oh right! Dude, oh man, some crazy stuff happened while you were gone, like not what'd you ever believe man…huh."

See-More then looked at me, with a very confused look in his eye; I looked back into it and could see my reflection. With my hood now gone my pale gray face was even more visible but what's more it revealed my…my…

"Dude! I didn't know you had white hair…or pointy ears-…ear."

I shot him a dirty look then, but I didn't hold it long, I was too distracted by the whole white hair deal. It was black just days ago…

"I thought only old guys had white hair man. Are you sure you're a teenager?"

I could only shrug. I honestly had no clue at this point. I reached out to grab one of the longer strands of hair, but I made the mistake of doing it with the wrong hand.

"Whoa, dude, DUDE!" See-More cried out as he bounced slightly away from me, I looked at him to my extended, clawed hand, and back again, "Is that a…a…_claw?_"

I nodded.

"And…that wasn't there before…right?"

I paused but quickly decided to shake my head. Truth or a lie it wasn't like I had to explain myself to him anyways.

"Dude…how'd that happen! I mean I know you can't _tell_ me but…did one of the Titans do it? Was it Raven? Blackfire? Dude you have to tell me!"

I could only shake my head and then finally shrug, resulting in an unhappy sigh from my former comrade.

"Well then…I mean…are you alright…like that thing doesn't hurt does it?"

I looked back down at the claw. I never really had time to examine it this closely before. I could see that the tips had torn through the fabric of the gloves; they were pitch black in color and made me really against taking off the rest of the glove to see what's underneath. Other than that though it just felt like a regular hand. I shook my head in response to See-More's question.

"Oh well that's good…I guess…" See-More mumbled before falling silent for a second, though his eye quickly lit up in an exclamation point, "Oh dude, right! You still don't know what all went down! So like we were at the Tower right? And Blackfire and Fixit were trying to figure out how to unlock the Titan's ship so we could leave right? Oh and I had to fight Raven after she escape, how did she escape anyways man? Oh never mind, anyways so there we were in her room…"

See-More then began to delve into everything that happened after they left me with Raven, though he didn't get very far when another voice suddenly invaded my head.

_Kyd Wykkyd. _

I immediately recognized it and immediately knew what to do next.

_Fixit, what the hell!_

_Keep your face and emotions in check. Do not let See-More know that you are being distracted._

_To hell with you! You blew off my ear!_

_And if you do not control yourself I will take control of See-More and incinerate more than just your ear. Now __**act natural**__._

The unfamiliar anger in Fixit's voice shook me from my own anger for a moment, which gave me enough time to realize See-More had paused in his story and was giving me a strange look. I quickly shook my head to tell him it was nothing before motioning with my clawed hand for him to continue.

_Alright we're good._ I thought as See-More picked back up where he left off. _Now are you going to explain to me why you were trying to kill me?_

_I was not trying to kill you, I was merely attempting to sear off an arm or a leg to rend you incapable of escaping. If it were not for See-More's attempts to stop me you would not have been in fear for your life._

_Okay…and why were you trying to sear my arms and legs off?_

_Perhaps because you have betrayed us._

_I…that collar that was around my neck, Num- Blackfire threatened to have it kill me if I didn't do what she wanted-_

_Yes I know, I was the one who designed it for her._

_Well she told me to find you, See-More, and Red-X…where is Red-X? And you?_

_Ah, I suspected as much. I hypothesized that we might be hunted down so I…forced us to split apart. Red-X left us and I…I am a part of See-More now._

_So…you are like…in his head or something?_

_No, to put it simply I am a hyper-advanced upgrade that See-More's hardware has received. I am a part of his eye, not of him._

_So could you communicate with him to?_

_Yes._

_And…have you?_

_No._

_Why?_

There was silence then and I quickly took that opportunity to nod and appear that I was still listening to See-More's story, which from what I could pick up sounded very interesting. I would have to remember to somehow ask him to tell it again when I could actually listen.

_Blackfire is planning something. I do not know what it is. And shall I assume she has not divulged it to you?_

I was about to shake my head but quickly stopped myself, knowing it would more than likely confuse the still talking See-More.

_No._

_From what I have gathered her plan involves heavily on us being alive and in her custody. _

_So she was never in any trouble then? She went through all this trouble just to get us to her planet? How did this happen? Why us? Why choose to involve us?_

_I am not entirely sure. Kyd Wykkyd. Something is troubling you._

_Well, yeah. Just found out that I'm getting stabbed in the back._

_No, it is more than that. I can feel your thoughts. You are more than angry, you are hurt…_

_Fixit, please, don't look into this more than you should._

_Normally I would not. But I fear anything more hidden between us will only hinder our escape from this planet. Now I know everything there is to know about See-More, Red-X is no longer an issue now that he is on his own, but if you still wish to join us I must know everything Kyd Wykkyd. _

I let the silence drag on then. I even focused back on what See-More was saying.

"…and we totally crashed on the planet man! I didn't get too banged up, neither did Fixit or Raven really, but Red-X was in pretty bad shape, oh man it was nuts! When I woke up we were all in some small cave thing and another one of the Titans was there and about to attack Red-X! Naturally I came to the rescue…"

_Kyd Wykkyd._

_I knew Blackfire, alright? _I really had to fight to keep in control of my face now. I had been doing my best not to think about the past. I had been upset whenever I thought on what happened before…but now. _Me and her were a part of this secret cult. I didn't even know she was an alien at the time, she must have had make-up on or something. But yeah I was kind of friends with her until she left the place; I haven't seen her since…well since today._

_I sense that you are not telling me everything._

_Just trust me, that's all you need to know._

_I see. Now, do you mind explaining to me what has happened to your hand?_

_What do you mean?_

_Do not play dumb. It was not clawed the last time I had seen you. Did Raven or Blackfire do this to you?_

_No, I…well I guess you can say I did this to myself…_

_Please, do explain._

_Is it really that important?_

_Kyd Wykkyd-._

_Alright, alright. It's my cape. When I use it to teleport I have to…do it with bad intentions…otherwise it…corrupts me._

_How would an inanimate object know such a thing?_

_Probably because it's not exactly inanimate. The person I got it from apparently made a deal with a demon to get it herself._

_You knew this yet you continue to use it?_

_I didn't know until just a few days ago…when I was trapped inside Raven's head._

_Oh?_

_Oh…right, none of you know about that either…we have a lot of catching up to do._

_This is true. Unfortunately I fear my time has run out, See-More is preparing to finish his relation of past events and you two must then begin to plan our escape._

_What? Why can't you help us?_

_Because See-More must not know I can communicate with him. Currently he believes I have simply been reduced to a program in his hardware and that would be the story he tells Blackfire should she capture him. If Blackfire believes my conscious is all but gone that is one more advantage we have._

_So why let me know you're still alive?_

_Two reasons. One, because I will need someone to salvage this hardware in case See-More falls. And two, because I believe you deserve a chance to explain yourself before I killed you._

_Ah…so are we still on the same side?_

_Your head is still on your shoulders. Is it not?_

With that I knew Fixit would remain silent. Emotionless or not I knew he enjoyed scaring people.

"…and Fixit was dying man, _dying_. I think he said something about downloading into me? I don't know but I thought he'd be okay after that, like he would be able to talk in my head and stuff, but I just get these warning and suggestions messages all the time about what I should do or whatever. He can even take control of my eye man! If it's even him, or like a program based off him or something, it's really fast, faster than I could ever move it around! But right man you were there! Sorry again about that, I thought Fixit was after you or something, but if he was…you know, really here he wouldn't ever attack you like that, we're all friends! But yeah I guess the program just saw you as a threat for some reason, I guess I'll have to be careful with it around you man. But yeah so after that Fixit or the program or whatever totally kicked the two Titans butts! With my help of course…but then Blackfire that big guy and you showed up and then we were all captured and then we all got free and then you tackled me…and well I guess you know all that and the rest…"

I nodded and See-More took a minute to catch his breath but then he smiled at me before standing up. Keeping my hand clamped around my missing ear I stood up with him, we then finally decided to take a look around the room we had just a few minutes ago been sort of fighting in.

"Is this like a bedroom or something?" See-More asked out loud.

_It __**was**__ Number 26's bedroom._ I thought with a satisfied smile.

"Oh man, is that…_outside_!" See-More exclaimed as his eye fell over the large window that had been smashed open by a stray laser. The thief than ran over to step out in the porch, being mindful of the shards of glass that now littered the ground. "It's not Earth, but it's a lot better than being in that dungeon place any longer!"

I made my way over until I was standing on the porch with See-More. I could see the sunrise beginning way off in the distance, though it looked like more than one sun was rising.

"Do you think Blackfire even had a way of freeing our friends?" See-More randomly asked as we stood out there.

I turned to him, surprised that I had not been thinking the same thing. I could only shrug, my desire to kill unsurprisingly growing stronger. See-More's smile was all but gone as he kept his gaze on the multiple rising suns.

"She got you out though, for whatever reason, she's got to know how to do that again…do you think Fixit helped her do it?"

I wanted to shake my head, if Fixit had the technology to free our friends I was sure he would have told me while we were talking. Again I could only shrug.

"Then we force it out of her." See-More said, he then let out a groan before smacking his eye a few times, "Enough with the warnings! Kyd, before we get out of here we have to get Blackfire to tell us how she freed you. Man, we can't have gone through all of that and get nothing, that's not how we do things!"

See-More was then looking at me and I was looking back at him. His costume was torn in multiple places, the exposed part of his face was caked in orange and red dust and dirt, his eye, although apparently fully functional, was still cracked and damaged looking. For the first time I could see how worn and beaten my comrade really looked. And I could see in the reflection in his eye that he was seeing the exact same person standing before him. In a single motion I placed my last remaining normal hand on my comrade's shoulder before giving him the best smile I could muster. See-More quickly smiled back.

"That's it then man! Let's go hunt us an alien princess!"

As See-More turned around I had to let my smile vanish. Righteous or not, revenge or not, not matter how badly I wanted to stop the bitch's heart from beating, I knew this was going to _suck_.

**XXXXXX**

Starfire could not stop kicking herself for leaving her communicator behind. It was bad enough she had waited so long to even attempt to use it. Robin would be furious with her whenever she got back home, even if she had Raven and Beastboy with her.

But it was too late to turn back now. Already Tamaran was within her sights. Starfire couldn't help but allow a smile to fall on her lips, despite her current troubles. Even though it really had not been that long since she had last been at her home planet she still missed it all the same.

Now that was strange. Starfire could not remember her people ever guarding the perimeters of Tamara. Nor could she remember the guards ever wearing such extravagant looking purple armor.

Even stranger still was the fact that they were now approaching her, at a very rapid speed, with long, sharp, and elaborate looking spears….

**XXXXXX**

_**To Be Continued…**_

**XXXXXX**


	22. Vexing

**The Wicked One**

**Chapter 22: Vexing **

**XXXXXXX**

The cafeteria was so packed, so filled with unfamiliar faces. People dressed in costumes. People that _she_ always used to warn us about. But these weren't heroes. Not the kind of costumed freaks that we were told to avoid, not the kind that killed my friend. They were a new thing, criminals, thieves, like I was trained to be, only dressed up. Only gifted. I could feel my cape draped over me, like some kind of cold blanket.

I wasn't gifted. Not like all these other people. What I had was a choice. And I chose wrong.

…_**.**_

"That kid, he hasn't spoken at all yet has he?" Jinx spoke up, her eyes trained on someone across the cafeteria.

"What kid?" Mammoth questioned, his focus still on the food he was buried face deep in.

"The new kid, the one with the cape and bat ears. Gizmo you see who I'm talking about?"

"Yeah, he's a nobody." Gizmo replied, his back to where the boy in question was sitting, "The scarf for brains won't even talk and he's got nothing special about him, I don't even know why the headmistress let him in, it's not like he's going last long."

Jinx looked from Gizmo and then back to the new kid after he had finished talking. Her eyes seemed intent on something until she finally shrugged before taking a bite out of her own food.

"Yeah, you're probably right."

…_**.**_

I could hear them talking about me, it sounded as though they were sitting right next to me, talking as though I wasn't there. I hated the new ears, I always had uncommonly good hearing but what I had now…it was maddening.

But it didn't help that I was focused on them. The headmistress told me about them when I first arrived. How they were the first of her students to take on the Titans, how they had the Titans beaten until Robin ultimately defeated them. She said they were the most promising of her students, that with the right tutelage and training they could be hired by worldwide criminal organizations. But I was only half listening at that point. All I needed to hear were two words. Titans and Robin.

"Hey there man! How's it going?" A cheery voice suddenly asked.

_Number 72?_

And there I was, back in that dimly lit warehouse. Alone in a sea of pale faces and dark leather. And there he was, the only one with a smile on his face. Walking up to me and introducing himself. Holding out his hand like we were some regular children in some regular school.

I looked down at the hand extended towards me. It's glove white, not black. I looked up into the face of the one with the white glove, his skin was dark, not the pale white I was expecting. Nor was I expecting the reflection of myself that I could clearly see in his large green eye.

"The name's See-More, what's yours?" He asked me, hand still outstretched. I could only look from his giant eye to his hand and back again. It was uncanny, how could he have the _exact same smile._

"See-More, don't waste your time with him." Jinx spoke up, immediately all the idle chatter in the cafeteria quieted down.

"But…why?" See-More asked, his hand lowering as his eye looked from Jinx to me.

"Cause the guy is a nobody!" Gizmo pointed out, looking at me with squinted eyes, "He's got crud for brains."

"He does?" See-More asked, before bringing his attention back to me, "You do?"

I only looked back at him.

"Yeah! What are you supposed to be anyways?" Mammoth suddenly spoke up, his mouth full of food, "Some kind of creepy little bat boy? I bet he can't even fight!"

I remember someone like him. Another big lug we all had the displeasure of training with. He was the first to call me out on my ears. Number 72 made sure he was the last. I kept my eyes on the big Mammoth, though in the corner of them I could see that See-More was starting to back off, looking very uncomfortable.

"What's the matter little bat? Something I say hurt your feelings?" Mammoth said with a grin. There was dead silence in the cafeteria now. The big lug who called me out in the warehouse was a nobody and was quickly shut down, but Mammoth and his friends were different, they were the big time, the kings of this place.

"Mammoth, you're wasting your time as well. I don't think he even understands what you're saying." Jinx said, and even though she sounded sympathetic I did not miss the mocking smile she then threw me, neither did Gizmo.

"Haha, see! I told you he had crud for brains! I bet he wouldn't understand if I said he was a weak little skuzz-head who wasn't worthy of licking my shoes!" He held his small feet up for emphasis, long mechanical legs extended from his backpack to keep him afloat as he mocked me. His laughing was apparently infectious as the rest of the students soon started to follow.

I stood up then, the seat that I was sitting in falling to the ground, the noise of which cut through the laughter like a heated knife. I never liked laughing. Never liked the carefree recklessness of it. Never liked how it made it so easy to mock others. How _he_ managed to laugh seconds before he died.

"Heh, hey Gizmo I think you made him mad." Mammoth pretended to whisper, still loud enough for everyone to hear. Gizmo's at first surprised expression was quickly replaced with a grin.

"Yeah, not liked _he_ can do anything about it."

And then I was gone, pulled into the ice cold blackness. I returned in the midst of my classmates letting out surprised gasps. With a smooth motion I placed a hand on Gizmo's bald head. The little twerp let out a surprised yelp before flailing forwards, away from me.

"Hey!" Mammoth cried, I did not need to look over to know that he was attempting to attack me. This gave me enough time to grip my cloak and disappear into the darkness again. I returned to see that Mammoth had knocked off all the food on the table in his attempt to strike me.

"NO! Where'd he go! He's going to pay for that!"

"There!" Gizmo cried out, aiming some sort of gadget at me. It soon began to glow red so I vanished again. When I reappeared, on top of one of the tables, Gizmo already had it pointing at me again, a scorch mark on the wall where he had previously missed. Once again I disappeared just as soon as he fired, only to return to him pointing it back at me.

_Is he tracking me somehow?_

With that in mind I disappeared again, only dodging it by a hair. When I returned I was just where I wanted to be: in front of Mammoth.

"Hah! Got you now!" the giant ape of a man declared, reached for me with both arms. Knowing I had no time to use my cape I simply ducked under him, it was all I needed.

Mammoth let out a roar of pain as the red blast struck him in the face.

"Hey you can't do that! That's cheat-!" Gizmo tried to say but the darkness drowned him out as I vanished again. I reappeared directly behind him and swung an already prepared fist, aimed at the back of his little bald-.

A wave of pink was all I saw before my fist suddenly missed him and went straight into the corner of one of the tables. If I could have cried out in pain I would have. Instead I gripped my throbbing hand as I stumbled backwards.

"You really need to work on your predictability." Jinx spoke up, still sitting in her same seat, studying me with those bright pink eyes of hers.

"Haha! Got you now skuzz-head!" Gizmo declared, pointing his device back at me. I went to pull my cape, only to discover that it resisted me. Looking down I realized in horror that it had tied itself around one of the poles that kept the tables connected to the ground.

"Oh my, how unlucky." Jinx said with a chuckle. Gizmo's grin widened as his device began to glow red.

"And what is the meaning of this?"

"Headmistress!" Jinx, Mammoth, and Gizmo all said at once. Mammoth quickly patted out the small fires that still clung to his hair while Gizmo quickly pressed a button on the device, the glowing instantly died down. I turned to see the small old lady herself standing in the center of the cafeteria, as if she had been there all along.

"Would one of you care to explain why my three best students have resorted to petty school yard scuffling?" She questioned as she approached us. Stopping next to me she then grabbed the hem of my cloak and pulled, the material instantly untying itself from around the pole. She then turned to the three in question. "Well?"

"He started it Headmistress!" Gizmo quickly declared, pointing an accusing finger at me. I could begin to hear murmurings and chuckles rise up from the students around us.

"Yeah! He-!" Mammoth began only to be interrupted when the Headmistress suddenly stomped one high healed boot to the ground, the resulting echo rang loudly in the room and quickly silenced everyone.

"I do not want to hear excuses." The old woman affirmed, looking each one of the three dead in the eyes, one by one all their heads fell, "You three are the pride of this school, you should be setting examples to the rest of your fellow students, not acting like untrained children."

"Yes ma'am." The three of them said in perfect unison. The Headmistress looked at them for a moment before throwing me a sideways glance and looking back at them.

"Now tell me. Did Kyd Wykkyd truly instigate anything? Was he the first to attack? Was he the first to insult you?"

"Well…you see…" Gizmo started to say only to drift off when See-More suddenly stepped out from the crowd. I looked over to him and our eyes met.

"Ma'am, if I may. I saw everything, Kyd Wykkyd didn't start anything, he was just…just defending his honor."

"Oh?" The Headmistress spoke as See-More turned his eye to her, "Are you being honest with me?"

"Yes ma'am." See-More spoke. I could immediately hear muffled cursing from Gizmo and Mammoth, though Jinx only kept her head bowed.

"What of the rest of my students? Surely you all witnessed everything. Does See-More speak the truth? Was Kyd Wykkyd merely defending his honor?"

The room was quiet at first, but as the Headmistress's stern eyes scanned over each and every face there quickly grew a quiet murmuring of agreement between all of them.

"Well then I must say I am impressed." The Headmistress said as she turned to me, I looked back at her, genuinely confused "None of my other students could ever say they took on the three of my best and were still conscious enough to get them in trouble for it."

"But, Headmistress-." Gizmo and Mammoth both muttered.

"Enough!" The Headmistress interrupted before turning on all three of them, "There is a fine line between what is acceptable and what is unacceptable within my school and while I do not pride my students in their abilities to follow rules I do expect them to know where that line is and how they should cross it. You three have not only defied me but have also managed to make me ashamed to call myself your teacher…"

The Headmistress then looked into each of their faces before looking out amongst the rest of the students.

"Let these three's embarrassment be a lesson to the rest of you all. The next student who so blatantly crosses my line will receive more than just a tongue lashing. Now off to class with all of you, I believe the cafeteria will be closing early today."

With that the students dispersed, all mumbling and grumbling and shooting me dirty looks. We all knew who was really to blame. But no one would dare get upset with those three. Not the three that could take on the Teen Titans…

"See-More, I would like you and Kyd Wykkyd to stay behind for a moment."

"A-are we in trouble ma'am?" See-More asked as he walked up to us. The Headmistress waited until all the students left and silence had fallen into the cafeteria.

"No See-More, you are not in trouble." The Headmistress finally replied, See-More in turn letting out a deep sigh of relief, "But there is a favor I would ask of you."

"…ma'am?"

"When I started this school I had always wanted either of two things to evolve when it came to my students relationships with one other. Either complete unity or complete individuality. I still strive for either one to this day, but I am not blind. Students succeed today by forming groups, not one complete one, but numerous, smaller groups, doing all they can to avoid _other_ groups of students. I've seen many a potential child leave my school all because they could never find a group of their own." The Headmistress then turned her eyes to me. "I do not want this to become of you Kyd Wykkyd. There is much potential I see in you, and I do not wish to lose it simply because my other students refuse to accept you. That is why I am asking you, See-More, to allow him to join your group, or if you do not have one, to form one with you."

"You mean…be his friend?"

"Friendship is not necessary, I personally would advise against such attachments. All I ask of you is to accept Kyd Wykkyd."

See-More than turned to me, I looked back at him, trying my best to avoid looking at my reflection in his giant lens. Then he smiled, such a care-free, familiar smile I felt my heart skip a beat and for an instant 72 was standing before me, pale skin, dark hair, and happy, happy smile.

"I think I can do that ma'am." See-More spoke, breaking the illusion, but he then stretched out his hand towards me, smile still firmly in place, "What do ya say, Kyd Wykkyd, wanna be my fr- ah, be a part of my…group?"

And as awkward as he was, as scary as the Headmistress's eyes were, and as forced as this all felt I couldn't help but let the smallest of smiles escape my control as I gripped See-More's hand in acceptance.

**XXXXXX**

"Whatcha thinking about?" Kid Flash asked, Jinx jumping in response.

"I told you to stop sneaking up on me like that!" Jinx shot before turning away from him, arms folded.

"Sorry about that! You just looked like you were lost in your thoughts…didn't know how else to get your attention without scaring you…" Kid Flash explained as he approached her, "So what-."

"Are Robin and Cyborg still looking for their bad guy?" Jinx interrupted, still not looking at him.

"Yeah!" Kid Flash answered, moving to stand beside her, "No luck yet so far."

"That's too bad."

There was silence between the two then. Kid Flash kept trying to catch her eyes but Jinx kept her gaze focused straight forward, not even giving a sign that she knew what Kid Flash was doing. After a short while Kid Flash gave up and turned his gaze so that they were both looking out to the expanse of the sea.

"You know…if you're upset about how the Titans are treating you-."

"I'm not upset."

"Well it would be natural if you were, I mean they keep a tracker on you at all times and-."

"I used to be one of the bad guys Kid Flash, remember? They aren't going to suddenly welcome me with open arms just because I helped them against the Brotherhood of Evil."

"But that took a lot of courage to leave your friends and your life like you did. More courage than what a lot of these Honorary Titans have if you ask me."

"They weren't friends Kid Flash, they were classmates and accomplices. And in case you haven't noticed a few of them were with the group that attacked the Tower and took Raven and Beastboy."

"I remember you and I were brainwashed to be a part of that group. Who knows what other tricks they could have used on your former teammates to get them to work for them? Robin can't suspect it was you had anything to do-."

"He can and he does." Jinx interrupted finally turning on him, "I knew what Kyd Wykkyd was capable of should he get released, I knew that See-More wasn't with them when they got frozen, but I didn't say anything to the Titans."

"You didn't say anything because you didn't know all this would happen!" Kid Flash argued, "I mean none of us would think that Titan's sister would find a way to come to Earth and be able to bust out any of the bad guys, or that any of the Titans who weren't captured being unable to handle the ones who went for them. None of us saw this coming Jinx, and you shouldn't blame yourself for-."

"I'm not blaming myself!" Jinx shot, pink flashes of energy shooting from her eyes, "I was just standing here daydreaming until you showed up and started accusing me of all these thoughts and feelings that I don't have!"

"Okay, okay!" Kid Flash quickly replied, holding his hands up defensively, "It's just…you've seemed sadder than usual is all…"

"Yeah, well, it's just your imagination." Jinx replied, fire gone from her eyes as she turned away from Kid Flash. It grew quiet again and Jinx was about to turn around to see if Kid Flash had left when a pair of arms suddenly wrapped themselves around her waist.

"Kid Flash? Wha-?"

"I worry about you, okay?" Kid Flash whispered in her ear. Jinx felt a blush rise on her face; her small hands placed themselves gently on Kid Flash's larger, gloved ones.

"I know. But you don't need to. I'm fine."

"You know I can tell when you're upset. That's how I knew you weren't meant to be a villain when we first met."

"Oh yeah?" Jinx asked, allowing her eyes to close as she fell into his body slightly.

"Yeah. And that's how I can tell something is bothering you right now."

"…I'd rather not talk about it."

"That's fine…it's mostly just good to know I was right."

Kid Flash let out a chuckle that was quickly replaced with a grunt when Jinx sent a playful elbow into his side.

"Just kidding, just kidding!"

Kid Flash then slowly sat down on the cool, grassy ground, Jinx going down with him willingly, remaining held in his arms.

"I never thanked you, you know." Jinx said, breaking through the silence this time.

"Thanked me for what?"

"For helping me leave. Helping me realize I could be more than just a criminal."

"Oh I didn't really do anything. When it came down to it you're the one who made the big choice."

"Well if it wasn't for you I could have very well been with the rest of them in one of those frozen cells." Jinx said softly, letting herself fall into him, "Just…thanks for helping me see that there was even a choice for me at all."

Kid Flash chuckled softly before placing a light kiss on the back of Jinx's head. "There's always a choice Jinx, thank _you_ for making the right one."

Despite the turmoil growing in her mind. Despite the guilt and pain hidden deep within her chest. Jinx could not help but smile and enjoy the simple feeling of being safe in his arms. If only just this once.

**XXXXXX**

We went through each room so quickly; it was just like one long blur of expensive furniture and bright purple colors. It really would have been a great time to flex our stealing muscles if it was a different situation.

Our first few stops were the largest rooms: the throne room and what we suspected to be the royal bedroom, both were empty. Then as we narrowed our search through rooms smaller and smaller something quickly dawned on us.

"This place is completely empty!" See-More exclaimed as we teleported into what had to be at least the 70th room, I had honestly lost count. See-More paced around the room, his eye focusing on the palace that surrounded it. "I was thinkin' that maybe Tamaranians were cold blooded or something and that's why I can't see any of their heat signatures but…"

See-More than looked down to the ground.

"There's _something_ way down at the bottom. Probably the dungeon…not that I really want to go back down in there…"

I looked around the room we were in. It was messy. But only slightly. A drawer slightly open, bed sheets slightly askew. Something I wouldn't have noticed had we not been previously looking at completely flawless rooms for the last hour. As See-More continued to walk and talk to himself I decided to poke around. I went through the drawers first, only to find that they were completely empty. Had some of the drawers not been slightly open I could have assumed this room simply wasn't used. But as I looked around I noticed that the room seemed slightly more furnished than the others…slightly brighter to. I took another look at the bed sheet and realized it was very different than the others. It was bright pink; where as every other bed was a darker shade of red. I instantly recognized the bed sheet and as I looked around the room, every piece of furniture, even the way they were positioned, brought back memories, memories of the time I snuck through the Titan's tower. The time I went through their bedrooms. The time I was in Starfire's bedroom.

_Starfire._

The realization hit me as soon as the door burst open. I grabbed my cloak and turned in time to see the Tamaranian herself, clothes torn, hair a mess, and bright green eyes glowing brighter than a fire.

"Uh oh…" See-More mumbled.

"Why are you in my room!" The Titan cried, her fists glowing as green as her eyes, "Explain yourselves!"

"Ah, actually…we were just leaving!" See-More replied before quickly stepping beside me, "Right Kyd Wykkyd?"

I nodded and raised an arm to pull the cloak over us, but before I could do so green energy suddenly shot from Starfire's eyes, slamming straight into See-More's chest and sending him crashing into the vanity behind us. Before I had time to react the Titan was in front of me, her hand holding my wrist and an unimaginably strong grip keeping my arm from rising any further.

"Why are my own people attacking me?" Starfire hissed, her bright green eyes piercing into mine, "Why is my k'norfka's palace empty! _Answer me_!"

I wasn't sure if the Titan remembered that I couldn't answer her even if I wanted to. What I was sure of was that she was a simple clenched fist away from shattering my wrist. I could see that her glowing eyes were seconds away from blasting me the way she did with See-More. I wonder if he's-

"Kyd! Duck!" See-More suddenly cried, and despite my predicament I reacted in an instant. I lashed out with my one free hand, the claws cutting across the Titan's face. She let out a cry of pain before releasing me and as soon as I was free I hit the floor, narrowly avoiding the large green orb as it sailed over me and into the Titan as she held her face.

The prison orb took her in before bouncing slightly against the wall.

"Release me! _Now!_" The Titan cried, slamming her orange fists against the bubble, causing ripples to appear but nothing else. Only one eye glowed fiercely at us now, the other closed shut by the deep looking scratch marks that now decorated one side of her face.

"Oh man…did you really have to cut her so bad?" See-More questioned as he stood back up.

_ I was just trying to escape…_ I thought to myself as I looked over at my comrade. I could see that the costume around his chest was now completely singed away; the now revealed skin burned a bright red color.

_ Not that she was holding back either. _

I looked down at my clawed hand. The once black tips were now colored red and I couldn't help but notice how much my hand was beginning to twitch.

"Maybe we should get goin'…" See-More mused; I looked up to see Starfire still pounding away at the bubble.

"Do _not_ leave me!" The Titan hissed, then with a cry of rage the green laser eyes appeared again, only now just shooting from one eye. See-More and I were instantly focused on the burning red mark the beam was creating against the bubble.

"Er…maybe we should go…like right now!" See-More suggested, stepping up closer to me, "My bubble wasn't made to handle things like that!"

_ Starfire is Number 26's sister…_

The thought hit me randomly but it shook me to the core. I remembered Blackfire mentioning her sister; I remember the spite that was in her voice. This was our leverage, this was our chance.

"Kyd?...Where are you going?" I heard See-More ask as I walked away from him and towards the Titan in the bubble, I ignored him.

"Hey man…I don't think that's such a good idea…"

I did not stop walking until I stood before the Titan, I could barely see her through the red glow of her eye beam against the wall of the bubble, but I made sure that if it was possible for her to see me that she could. I took in a very slow, very deep breath.

"Kyd?"

Without another moment's pause I threw my clawed hand into the cell, and into the green laser. My glove was instantly incinerated, I couldn't see it any longer but I could feel it burn away. But while I did feel my hand heat up it did not hurt...it did not burn. I slowly began to exhale as I stepped further into the cell, hand still outstretched. The green energy was now behind my hand, being held back by my palm. And despite being able to see the ugly black and purple thing I could not be more thankful for it right then at that moment.

I pushed the beam further and further back as I stepped closer and closer to the Titan, I was now completely within the cell, my hand inches away from the Titan's face.

"Do not stop me!" The Titan cried, still fruitlessly trying to burn through my hand, "Do not get in my way! I must find my people, I must find my k'norfka!"

I look another step closer and suddenly the beam stopped. I hesitated then and it was long enough for her to reach out and grip my arm again. Only this time the grip wasn't painful…it was weak…gentle.

"Please…" Starfire breathed, I looked at her face and was taken aback when I saw that the green glow replaced her one good eye, replaced with tears, "Please don't stop me…."

"You know something…" See-More suddenly spoke up, causing me to jump slightly at how close he sounded. I turned my head slightly to see that he was standing right outside the bubble, his single eye focused directly on the Titan's single eye. "Something that's scarin' you…"

The Titan looked surprised at first, but the surprise quickly gave way to grief before she let her head fall, the hand that gripped my arm falling to her side. The hair that fell around her was tattered and even burned in places.

"I must find my k'norfka, something has happened to him." She said simply, her voice sounding very much defeated, the fire and anger gone. "I do not care why you are here; I just wish to find him."

"Er…is a k'nerfglah like…family or something?" See-More asked softly, the Titan nodding slowly in reply, her head still bowed. I finally lowered my arm, the twitching in my hand finally stopping.

"Well we're actually here to find Blackfire…she's your sister right? Does sister mean k'nafknamah?"

"Blackfire…?" Starfire breathed finally looking up, I instantly took a step back; her one good eye was glowing again. "My sister is here?"

"Uh…yeah?"

_ Damnit See-More._

"Release me." Starfire spoke, standing straight up, her eye looking past me, focusing directly on See-More, "I must find my sister and stop whatever it is she is planning."

"Um…well maybe I can do that-."

"You _will_ do it!"

"Okay okay I will! But uh…well…do you think you could…take us with you?"

I turned on See-More in a flash, giving him my best 'what the hell' look. To which he promptly ignored, his one big eye looking up hopefully at Starfire. The Titan looked back down at him though her gaze switched between the both of us.

"If I recall correctly you two were working with my sister. You broke into our home and stole friend Raven and Beastboy."

"Well technically it was just friend Raven…the green guy kinda just snuck on…"

"Where are they?" The Titan demanded, pushing past me so that she was face to face with See-More, with only the wall of the bubble between them.

"Ah…well…last time we saw them they were fighting with Blackfire and some really big Tamaranian guy…" See-More muttered, stepping back slightly.

"My k'norfka! He was fighting my friends? Why!"

I tried to catch See-More's eye behind the Titan's back, tried to let him know somehow that he was telling her too much. That he was ruining our best shot. See-More finally glanced over at me, though it lasted less than a second.

"I…I'm not sure…"

I breathed out a silent sigh of relief.

"Then you must know where they are now! You must take me to them!"

"Well I don't know _exactly _where they are now…but you're in luck! Me and Kyd are a great team for finding people" The dirty look I shot at him quickly vanished when the Titan looked back at me "…we can help…if you promise to let us talk to Blackfire before you do…whatever you plan on doing to her."

The Titan remained silent as she looked between us again. Finally she let out a sigh.

"Robin would be most furious at me if I befriended criminals…"

"We don't have to be friends or anything!" See-More quickly assured, "Just think of us as…er…people with similar interests?"

I rubbed my good hand over my face.

"Are you both sure you could not rethink your paths? Perhaps become good so this 'working together' can be easier?"

See-More and I exchanged glances.

"Well…I wouldn't say Kyd and I are really…bad…I mean we're bad but like…we aren't…evil? Well _I'm_ not evil; I don't know about Kyd Wykkyd over there, he's been acting kind of darker lately. Oh sorry about that scratch by the way, I think Kyd is sorry to."

I quickly nodded in agreement, though the Titan merely looked confused.

"Scratch?"

"You know…the one on your face…?"

The Titan stepped back slightly so that she was facing the both of us and raised one careful hand on her face, her fingers brushing along the cuts. She pulled back her hand, the surprise in her face growing when she saw the blood that now decorated her fingers. I felt my own clawed fingers twitch again.

"I did not even know…is it horrible?"

See-More and I exchanged glances.

"No not at all!" See-More quickly assured as I shook my head to agree with him.

"But why can I not see out of one eye?"

"Er…it'll stop being like that…soon."

"I see…"

"Here, let me see if we can use some of these bed sheets as a bandage or something…er you don't mind do you?"

"No, it is fine." The Titan said simply, still staring somewhat sadly at her bloodied fingers. See-More then went off to go tear up her bed.

It was a wonder what I was becoming. My clawed hand felt stiff and cold, unfeeling, but as I looked into the Titan's sad, more than likely scarred face I felt something. Something I hadn't felt since seeing the cuts on 72's face. And despite my best intentions my more human hand reached out and gripped her shoulder. Starfire looked up at me, looking confused. I could imagine that I probably looked just as confused as her and with great effort I gave my sworn enemy the best smile I could muster.

The Titan looked back at me for a moment before her own smile began to form before breaking out into a full blown giggle. I quickly retracted my hand.

"You know…you are not as frightening as you first appear." The Titan announced, making me really wish I still had my cowl. See-More laughed somewhere behind me, over the noise of torn fabric.

"That's what _all_ his friends say, eh Kyd?"

…_I hate you._

**XXXXXXX**

"No!" Robin shouted, slamming a fist against the wall.

"I'm sorry Robin but scans are coming back negative. None of these guys have the capabilities of space travel."

"Check them again."

"This is the third time I've scanned them. None of them can do it, we need another plan."

"This is the best plan we have!" Robin declared turning to face the rows of frozen villains. "One of these low lives was supposed to actually have some purpose."

"Well it turns out they don't." Cyborg replied, walking up to stand beside his leader. "Robin, we need a new plan."

"Nothing we do will help Starfire in time."

"It's only been a day man, and Starfire is a strong girl, stronger than all of us put together, literally. She'll be fine until we can think of a way to help her out."

"How far a long are Titan's East from completing their ship?"

"A few months at least. Up until this point they were only working on the thing for fun. But even after it's built we still have to test it-."

"I want you with them. And I want the ship to be ready to fly in a week."

"Robin…even with me there I don't think-."

"Cy." Robin interrupted, his somber tone catching his metal friend's eyes, "Please."

"Alright, man. I'll try." Cyborg said with a sigh before casting his sight to the doors that led to outside. "And what about Jinx and Kid Flash? You want me to keep an eye on either of them?"

"No, I am going to have them join up with the Honorary Titans to move these villains to more secure locations."

"Why do I get the feeling you are not going to take part in that particular mission?"

"I have my own mission." Robin announced as he began to make his way away from the wall of frozen cells. Cyborg remained where he stood, looking after his leader.

"You don't think it might be a bad idea to have her out of our sights?"

"Jinx has proven herself on more than one occasion. If we are going to fully trust her we need to start letting our guards down…but I will keep radio contact with the other Titans should that not work as planned."

"Gotcha…mind if I ask what this… personal mission of yours entails?"

Robin stopped just before the door that lead out of the room. He paused for only a moment, his back to his friend.

"I'll just be…catching up with an old friend." And with that Robin left the room, leaving Cyborg with only more questions.

**XXXXXX**

The three of us walked down the hall in silence. It was an awkward silence, not the kind I preferred. See-More walked ahead of us, his eye scanning every room we passed, I knew without asking that every room he looked into was empty. This whole palace was empty…empty except for the dungeon.

"Pardon me for asking…" The Titan spoke up as we walked; I glanced sideways at her only to see that she was already looking directly at me. She smiled when our eyes met and I quickly looked away. "You are Kyd Wykkyd, yes?"

I nodded.

"And you can…how do you say…teleport?"

I nodded again, still not looking at her.

"Is that why my sister…why Blackfire freed you? For your powers?"

Even if I could speak I could not give the Titan the answer she wanted. It was a question even I was still looking for the answer to. So I simply shrugged, keeping my eyes focused on the end of this hallway, the last hallway that See-More and I were to search before all that was left was the basement…

"Blackfire hired us sayin' that she needed to be busted out of some prison." See-More spoke up as we continued to walk. "Well not me exactly, I kinda joined up on my own…"

"The last I saw my sister she was the ruler of my people. My friends and I defeated her and I had her banished from Tamaran…I do not understand how she has returned…or why my own people have turned against me…"

"Hey, I'm sure it's not all that bad…"

"Do you not see me!" Starfire suddenly cried, forcing See-More and I to stop, "I was attacked before I could even reach my planet! I had to fight…to hurt my own people to reach my own home safely!"

See-More and I could only look back at her. There was nothing we could say. The Titan glared back at us, tears welling up in her one visible eye again, the other covered away by a ripped sheet of fabric.

"Why did you work for my sister? Why did you allow all this to happen!" The Titan suddenly declared, stepping up to us.

"Er…" See-More muttered, looking back at me for guidance. I looked to him and thinking quickly pointed to my neck…really hoping he could see what had changed about it. "Wha…oh yeah!"

"Well you see, my good pal Kyd Wykkyd had this collar thing on his neck that Blackfire put on him…I remember Fixit saying she could use it to track him and even kill him if she wanted to! She said she'd only remove it if we help her…when I found out about everything I had to help Kyd out…he's my…friend… you know…"

"Friend? Villains do not have friends." The Titan asserted, still glaring at us, a single tear breaking free from her eye. "They only hurt and take away other's friends!"

"Well thats kinda harsh don't you think? I mean yeah me and Kyd are criminals but we're still people right? And it's not like we broke into your Tower with the intention of stealing Titans! That's just how it…worked out…"

I let out an inaudible sigh before moving over to stand closer to See-More. Out of all the people who were left from our little group. It had to be two who could not negotiate. Starfire's glare deepened, her fists rose at her sides, glowing green. I gripped my cape and held it like a wall between See-More and I and the Titan. See-More quickly threw up his hands defensively.

"Whoa whoa! What're you doing! I thought we were gonna work togeth-!"

"It was a mistake!" Starfire cried, "Why are we even walking through this hallway! You said my people were in the dungeon so why are we not there!"

"I said there was _something_ down there; I don't know what it is!"

"You are wasting my time on purpose!"

Another step in our direction, we both took another step back.

"This was the last hallway left, we were gonna check it then check out the dungeon place together, we can't be all hasty in case it's another trap…and from what you've said you've been through trying to get it here it probably is one…"

"How can I tell what a trap is! Being with you could be a trap!"

Another step taken forward and back.

"Starfire…" See-More spoke, his voice sounding softer than before, I glanced over at him to see his large green eye reflecting Starfire's face perfectly, "I know you're upset…you feel hurt and betrayed…you can't trust anyone…not after what your own family has done to you…not after what Robin did…"

Starfire's once anger filled face was instantly replaced with surprise and then horror.

"What…how could you…" Anger quickly returned as she placed a hand over her eye, "Stop it! Don't look at me like that! My feelings are my own, they are not for you to see! Do not think you can just look at me and pretend to know how I…how I…"

"I'm not pretending Star." See-More spoke, his tone cutting through the air like ice. I could not take my eyes off of his eye. Was this even the same guy anymore? "Look I know we're the bad guys but you can trust us…we gotta work together if we want to stop your sister and save your friends…"

"I…" Starfire mumbled, hand still over her eye, "I…no."

Suddenly the Titan stood, hand moving away from the eye, which now was glowing bright green. I reacted in an instant, shoving See-More to the side just as the blast of energy connected with my shoulder, sending me sailing down the hallway. I tried to grab my cape as I whizzed through the air, but just as I felt my hand close around the material I hit the ground, the impact knocking the wind out of me and forcing my cape up above my head.

"Kyd!" I heard See-More call. Head spinning I slowly stood up, I could see the Titan, back facing me as she began running down the hall the way we had come from.

"Kyd man are you okay!" See-More asked, running up to me, though his eye went over to the Titan as well. "Maybe we should go…if you teleport…"

_We can't win without her._

I took a few steps towards the Titan.

_Without her, Blackfire wins. _

"Kyd! Wait, man, what are you doing!"

_Without her the other students will still be frozen…_

I began to run after her, ignoring the frantic calls of my teammate.

_Without her I will never be able to escape and punish those who took my only friend from me!_

I gripped my cape and pulled it around me as I ran. I ran through the never ending darkness for a fraction of a second before I was again running down the hallway, only now it was towards the Titan who was now running towards me.

"Do not stop me!" She cried, hands glowing green, "I shall not hold back!"

And with that she threw her bolts of energy at me. I danced around them. All I saw were objects. Slabs of stone, little robot drones.

"_Man, you're way too good at this thing, I never had a chance."_

I ducked, weaved, and avoided the bolts of energy as if they were the wind blowing fruitlessly around me. I could see the surprise and anger more clearly now that I was closer. I expected to see pain as I shoved my fist into her stomach. Instead her anger only intensified.

"Your efforts are pointless." The Titan hissed before raising her arm and back handing me across the face. It felt like the force of a hurricane as I was sent immediately into the wall. "Do not stand in my way!"

I was dazed, battered, and bruised. Through my blurred vision I could see the Titan walking towards me. There was no hero I could see in that face so marred by destruction. I could only see hatred and fury. I smiled despite myself. It was like looking into a mirror.

"Leave Kyd alone!" See-More suddenly shouted, an instant later a red hot laser blasted itself into the Titans back. The alien let out a hiss of anger, the glow in her eyes growing impossibly more intense as she turned on my comrade.

"_What do ya say Kyd Wykkyd? Do you want to be my fr- ah, be a part of my…group?"_

He was just a kid. A shirtless, battered eye'd kid. He was the first person who was ever nice to me after I left that academy of assassins. He was the first person who treated me as a…

"Don't worry man, even though Fixit is saying a million times in my eye that this is a bad idea. I still got your back!"

And there it was. That smile. That smile that was so much like 72's. It was 72's. Just on a different face. On See-More's face. On the face of my…friend.

I turned my now clearing vision on the alien that was slowly approaching See-More. The Titan with her hands and eye glowing a fierce shade of murder. I tasted blood in my mouth, I clenched my one good hand. Its clawed brother was no longer flinching, it clenched and un-clenched itself on its own accord. It knew what I wanted, and it only wished to obey. I quickly stood on shaking legs, my body ached horribly, but I would not let myself fall. I stared straight at the Titan as I made my run for her.

_**I will not let a Titan kill another one of my friends!**_

I raced at her, my claw at the ready. And I screamed, I knew it could not be heard but I screamed all the same. I imagined it would have been a glorious scream, one that would have shaken all the empty walls of this palace, one that would have shaken the Tamaranian to the core.

When I was close enough I did not have to tell my claw what to do before it stroked. With one unconscious sweep of my arm it raked across the back of the Titan, tearing through clothing and skin like a hot knife through butter. The Titan's screams quickly filled the hall instead of my own. Blood poured like a fountain from her wounds as she collapsed to her hands and knees at my feet. I looked down at her and back to my claw, it was coated in the blood and it _trembled._ I could feel its ecstasy, its hunger, it wanted more…and I would give it all it required!

The claw rose on its own, there was no need for me to persuade it. I stared into the bleeding wounds in the Titan's back. Just one good thrust. That's all it would take. JUST ONE GOOD THRUST AND THAT'S ALL IT WOULD TAKE!

"Kyd no! Don't do it!" See-More cried out. I looked up to see him running at me just as my hand descended. There was not time for him to stop me, no time for-.

"Assuming control." A disembodied yet familiar voice suddenly declared. An instant later See-More's green eye switched suddenly from green to red and before I had time to react a red ball was all I could see before I was over taken.

"Are you truly this much of a fool? To let this go on for so long?" the same voice continued.

"Fixit? Is that you!"

"Yes See-More. I did not wish for you to learn this way but now is not the time. I must deal with the matter at hand."

"But…how come I don't see you anywhere?"

"Like I said there is no time for me to explain. Let's just say I am your eye. Now, about Kyd Wykkyd-."

"Right! Oh man Kyd!"

See-More placed his face and hands against my red prison bubble. I looked at him, but while I did not wish to move the red-soaked claw lurched forwards, digging itself into the space of the bubble where See-More had just been a second ago.

"Hey man relax! It's me! It's See-More!"

I tried to tell him through my eyes that I knew. I wasn't controlling the claw. I couldn't…

"Has the corruption finally seeped into your brain Kyd Wykkyd?" Fixit's voice questioned, I noticed that the red light that replaced the green of See-More's eye flickered as he talked, "Just what where you trying to accomplish by killing her?"

I didn't…I wasn't…I just wanted to protect…

"Yeah man what gives! H.I.V.E doesn't just kill people…we don't kill people man…what's happened to you?"

The claw still tried to tear itself free from the prison. But as I held See-More's gaze I placed my only remaining hand against the ball.

_This isn't me See-More. That claw isn't me. You have to believe me See-More. I just wanted to protect you…I just wanted to protect my friend._

I stared into his eye, knowing that both See-More and Fixit were staring back. Out of everyone in the world they were the only ones I had left. They needed me…I needed them. There was no way we could save our fellow teammates and get out of here if we weren't together. We had to stay together…

"I am afraid this is where we part ways Kyd Wykkyd." Fixit's voice spoke up, the usual cold tone of his voice now felt like a spear cutting into my chest. "You have become too dangerous and are too much of a risk at the success for this mission."

_There is no success if there is just you!_ I shouted in my head, hoping that he was paying attention. _You can't just sacrifice people and expect anything good to come from it! You can't do this alone Fixit!_

"Come See-More. We need to get moving if we hope to escape this planet."

See-More and I held gazes.

_ See-More…please…if you can hear me…_

"What about the Titan?" See-More asked, looking away from me and down to the Tamaranian who now lay motionless on the ground, a pool of blood surrounding her.

"She has lost too much blood. Even if she were to live she is too weak to be of any use. It is time to go now See-More."

_See-More…_

"See ya Kyd." See-More spoke, not bothering to look at me again as he began to walk down the hall way.

_Please don't leave me! _I screamed in my head as I slammed both claw and fist against the ball. _Please! Come back! You can't do this alone! You need me! You need-!_

But See-More was gone. Without a second glance he walked down the hallway and out the door. I was alone. Alone with the Titan that I had killed.

…_I need you…_

**XXXXXX**


	23. Window

** Just a brief message before I get things rolling again. Although it may not seem like it but this story is quickly winding down, despite how long I've taken with getting these chapters out. On that note I shall try my best to get these final chapters done as quickly as I can. On one final note thanks for the millionth time all those who have read and reviewed this little story and I truly hope you continue to enjoy is as things play out. Much love, and without further delay…**

**The Wicked One **

**Chapter 23: Window of Opportunity **

**XXXXXXX**

"Raven…hey Raven…can you hear me?"

Raven only mumbled in reply, her head hanging loosely so that**, **even though her cape and hood had been torn previously from her body, her hair still hid her face from Beastboy. The two Titans were chained up, hands and feet bound by chains of light, the same color as the light prisons they had been in previously. Only now it was just the chains. There were no walls of light that separated the Titans from the thousands of Tameranians that stood in the chamber with them.

"Silence yourself wretch!" Blackfire hissed before walking towards the edge of the large pedestal that the four of them were on. The Tameranian princess was dressed in a very dark looking cloak, the same cloak the rest of her people were wearing. Though, while the rest of the Tameranians kept their hoods up and faces covered Blackfire's hood remained down, her visible purple eyes shifting from the mass of people to the single large silver coffin that rested between the two Titans.

"We gather here today to honor the life of not just a great king, or an honorable Tameran. We are here to honor a kind and caring k'norfka, a man who always put the hopes and desires of his adoptive daughters and of his people, before his own!"

Silence filled the great chamber as Blackfire paced from one end of the pedestal to the other. The Tameran then looked from one Titan to the other before looking back to her people and pointing at the two.

"But we are also gathered here to punish those responsible for the deaths of our king and our princess, the _Teen Titans!_"

A loud uproar burst from the Tameranians then. Filling the entire chamber with death threats and angry cries directed entirely at the two Titans who stood bound and defenseless.

"But we didn't kill Starfire!" Beastboy shouted, "And the big guy…it was-!"

"I said _**silence!**_" Blackfire shouted before pressing a button on the device on her wrist. Immediately the angry outbursts were drowned by the agonized screams of the green Titan as the metallic collar around his neck pulsed with electricity. "You will not deceive us. I witnessed with my own eyes how the Titans used a dragon to slay my sister and I was there when your little sorceress tore my father apart-!"

"It was an accident!" Beastboy cut in desperately, the pain still clear in his voice, "She didn't mean-!"

"Beastboy." Raven muttered, causing the green Titan to immediately fall silent due to the deathly coldness in her voice. Beastboy turned his head to see Raven looking directly at him through the bangs of her hair. "It wasn't an accident. I killed him."

"But…Raven-."

"I killed him Beastboy!" Raven shouted, sparks of black energy flying from her body, "He was going to kill me, I did what I had to do!"

"I think we have heard enough from you two." Blackfire announced before pressing another button on her wrist, though this time she held it there for several more seconds as both the Titan's screams echoed throughout the chamber. When she finally released the button the Titans immediately collapsed as much as they could with the restraints, breathing heavy, ragged breaths.

"My people!" Blackfire announced after the following silence stretched for a few more seconds. She made her way to the front of the pedestal again so they all could see her. "I know my past actions have not marked me an honorable Tameranian. And while I will never be as great as our great king and my dear k'norfka was, I stand before you now a changed woman. I have personally witnessed the deaths of my only loved ones, I have seen the great evils and corruption that lie out there in the galaxy, and I ask all of you, my dear Tameranians, stand with me! Fight with me! Help me punish those that would wish our kingdom to crumble and our people to suffer! Help me not only regain my own honor, but the honor of Tamaran itself! Let us take the fight to them, show them how it feels to lose the ones they love and cherish! Stand with me brothers and sisters, fight with me my kin! Together we shall take the fight to the Titans and their allies; together we will bring _**Earth to its knees!**_"

What followed was the greatest uproar that Beastboy had ever heard. The cries of bloodlust and vengeance rang loudly in his hyper sensitive ears. But despite the overwhelming loudness of it all he could still hear the faint breathing of his fellow Titan. Could still hear his name as she called out softly to him.

"Raven…?" Beastboy whispered, turning his head, despite the pain, so he could look to her.

"We tried to fight it Beastboy...but it was inevitable…" Raven whispered as she held her friend's gaze, hopelessness and weariness filling up the entirety of her words, "I have brought upon the destruction of Earth."

**XXXXXX**

"Robin, you know I can track my ship from anywhere…are you aware of how fast you are going?"

"I've wasted enough time, Starfire can't afford for me to waste anymore."

"I let you borrow my ship not just because one of your Titans is in danger, you gave me your word you would only use it when you knew you would have back up."

"Cyborg and Titans East won't be done with their ship for at least another week. I don't have time for that; _Starfire _doesn't have time for that."

"You are being irrational and reckless. If you go in alone and out of your head you are not only risking your life but hers as well and you know that. I taught you that."

"You don't understand…Starfire…she's…"

"Robin, I'm sorry but I can't allow you to potentially throw your life away like this. I am putting the ship on auto-pilot and bringing you back home."

"You won't be able to do that."

"What?"

"…I overrode the auto-pilot…it was really easy actually considering you haven't changed the programming since…since we used to be partners…"

"Robin. Don't do this."

"Good-bye Bruce."

Robin then pressed the closest button to the panel and the Dark Knight's face was replaced with static. The Titan's leader closed his eyes for the briefest of moments before opening them again, the familiar red and white planet growing closer by the second.

"Hold on Star. I'm coming."

**XXXXXX**

_Damn you Fixit._

Leave it to him to be able to upgrade See-More's ball prison so effectively. No matter what sort of foul deeds or locations I conjured up in my head before trying to teleport I would always reappear right back inside the red, electrified ball…had anything new changed about me?

I sat back on my backside and examined my body. Same white hair, same sparsely placed sharp teeth, same lack of speech, same grey skin, same pointed ear (I took care to avoid touching the nub) and same purple and black claw. I looked at my claw in more detail. The blood had vanished from it, did it absorb blood? The purple colors stretched down my forearm sort of like veins while the black skin color took up the better portion of my hand. Was I becoming some specific kind of demon…or was it all just random? More importantly…

"_Has the corruption finally seeped into your brain, Kyd Wykkyd?"_

Would I still be me if this transformation ever finished? I shuddered at even the possibility of more of my body changing; I would do anything to avoid that happening again.

See-More's face burned into my head. The fear he had when my claw reached out for him. I had never seen him look at me like that before, many of our other classmates sure, but never him. I moved the claw so it was behind me, I didn't want to look at it, I never wanted to see it again.

Was Fixit really planning on trying to take on Blackfire on his own? Would he just try to escape? For See-More's sake I hope that was his plan…

I looked up to see the Titan still lying in the pool of blood. Her back was facing me, the deep cuts still oozing crimson, I could not tell if she was still breathing, but she certainly wasn't moving.

"_You have become too dangerous…too much of a risk."_

Why couldn't I control myself! Was the corruption already inside me now? Am I already losing myself? This would probably be the only time I would wish to be inside Raven's head again, maybe Pink Raven would be able to answer some of these questions…or maybe the Titan herself could if properly…motivated.

The claw twitched behind my back.

Stop it! Stop thinking like that! Stop thinking period! There is no way out of this cage so I might as well just-.

"My friends…"

The voice caused me to jump to my feet due to how surprising it was. I immediately looked down to the slumped body of the Titan, after a very careful inspection I could tell that she was indeed breathing, but only very faintly.

"I came here…to rescue my friends…"

Very slowly one of the Titan's arms began to slide forwards through her pool of blood. She then began to rise on her elbows, though it was an even slower motion and her whole body appeared to shake from the effort.

"You…my sister…you all…stole them…from us…"

Her back was still to me and I could still see the blood dripping from her wounds. I knew if she was human she would have been dead by now. In her more upright position she turned her head just enough that her one good eye could see me.

"Give them…give them back….Beastboy…Raven…give them back…"

I could only watch her as she struggled just to keep her head upright enough to look at me, and while my claw only seemed to twitch more in excitement I began to feel something twist very tightly in my chest. I kneeled down so the Titan could get a better look at me and placed my normal hand against the red prison ball. Immediately I had to retract it as electricity suddenly attacked my hand, I reflexively tried to grip the pained appendage with my clawed one but stopped as soon as I saw purple. I stopped to look at the claw; it almost seemed to twitch even more under my gaze.

_Control_. I have to have control.

"_Has the corruption finally seeped into your brain?"_

No. But even if it has I won't let it change who I am. I won't lose my control to it.

I flexed the clawed fingers and they reacted and obeyed. I tried to clench them and they resisted at first, I continued to force them to clench until I had made a fist out of the claw, I could feel the pointed tips dig into skin, black blood dripped from the fist. I looked back to the Titan, back to Starfire; I caught her gaze and held it as I commanded the claw to flex open again. It resisted, knowing what I was trying to do, but I continued to persist until the fist was open again. Keeping my gaze fixed with Starfire I forced my claw against my chest, the tips digging into flesh. The claw continued to resist but I only continued to persist in return. Very slowly I forced the claw to go down diagonally across my chest. The pain was instant and scaling hot, I was immediately taken aback by how hot it felt and the claw almost gained control but I quickly got over my surprise and pain and doubled my efforts to force the claw all the way down.

The marks burned just as hot even after the claw was off my body. I broke the Titan's gaze to look down at the fresh wound, then at the tips of the claw. There was still human blood inside me.

I looked back at the Titan then and she was still looking back in me. But now her eye was leaking tears again.

"Don't…do that…again…"

I looked back down at the claw, the redness was already gone. It still tried to resist as I clenched it back into a fist, but I forced it to clench all the same. I looked back at Starfire one final time before throwing the clenched claw back. Then with all the strength I could muster I flashed the Titan the biggest smile I ever had smiled in my entire life.

The electricity hit me immediately and ferociously as I slammed the claw into the shield. The pain was almost enough to stop, had Fixit really prepared to break through whatever defenses my demon hand had? I kept the fist against the shield however, despite the pain and despite the claw trying to break away and I tried to force it to press even harder. The electricity danced around my entire body, it felt like little explosions where going off all around me. I screamed silent yet incredibly painful screams. There was no room for looking; no room for thinking, all I had time to do was to scream and to keep pressing the clawed fist against the shield. The pain only grew worse as the electricity intensified, I thought I was going to black out, I _knew_ I was going to black out. Already I could see the blackness begin to close around the eyes as the pain became too much.

But, just as I was about to let my claw gain control a sudden green light began to pierce through the darkness in my eyes and the noise of a screaming Tamaranian quickly filled up the crushing silence of my own screams.

And suddenly the pain stopped, the need for applying pressure finally stopped. I saw the red prison for only half a second as my arm fell through the fist shaped hole before the entire ball shattered and disappeared entirely, allowing me to fall completely on the cold, hard ground.

I lay there for a few seconds, trying to catch my breath and recover from the pain. The claw lay open on the ground next to my face, the fingers pointed outward and making it look like a dead spider. A sudden purple boot appeared behind the dead spider hand, catching my attention as I followed the boot up the battle-worn body of its Titan owner. Starfire stood above me, hands on her knees, clearly struggling to stay upright but staying all the same. Our eyes met and she immediately gave me a single, small smile before reaching a shaking hand towards me.

"What say we…try this…again…?"

I reached out with my good hand and gripped hers. I opened my mouth, as if I was going to say something, but as soon as she gripped my hand in return the Titan finally collapsed. She landed heavily right beside me. I kept my hand gripped around hers as I quickly looked over her fallen form before letting out a silent sigh of relief.

Unconscious, not dead.

I then sat up to where I was on my knees, facing the Titan. While the pain from the electricity had all but vanished I knew I was nowhere near the strength I was at just a few seconds ago. I looked back down at the unmoving body before me.

_I really hope she's as light as she looks._

**XXXXXX**

Even though the room was dark Jinx had spent enough time walking around the Titan's East tower for her eyes to adjust. It was easily the biggest room she had seen in the Tower. Though it had to be big if it was supposed to house an entire space ship.

With careful, quiet steps she made her way over to the console that was placed near the ship. The entire set-up was very much a Cyborg design. She could still clearly remember the scene inside the Teen Titan's own tower, although of course their ship was missing at the time. The Titan's East ship was massive, though it was mainly the things that Jinx suspected to be the ship's thrusters that made up most of its size. There was only enough room in the cockpit for two people, maybe three.

Jinx only needed one.

The trickster pulled out a sheet of paper that she managed to nick off Speedy while he was busy secretly gawking at Bumblebee's body earlier that day. Honestly you'd think the heroes would have a little more self control then her former male classmates had.

_Mammoth never really got over me, even after years of knowing each other I would always catch him staring at me when he thought I wasn't looking._

Looking at the paper Jinx did her best to follow the instructions in order to power on the console and, in turn, the ship. I don't think Cyborg every really understood why I acted to interested in learning about his designs and inventions.

_Gizmo always tried to brag whenever he built something new. He would always walk up to me and hold whatever the new thing was in his hands like a child, that mocking little smirk always on his face._

After a few strokes of the console's keys blue lights suddenly kicked on. The noise of the machinery turning on was a little louder than she suspected, she knew she would have to act quickly. The lights in the rest of the expansive room then began to power on, showing the ship in even greater detail. It was amazing how much the small team managed to accomplish in such a short amount of time.

Earlier that day Jinx had watched them from the shadows as they worked on it. They basically built the engines in a span of a day. Mas and Menos were the powerhouses behind it all, their speed accomplished things that would take hundreds of men to do normally.

_Billy always had the potential to be something great. But he always used his powers to steal and do whatever he wanted. He was the happiest person I ever met at the Academy._

After everything had powered on Jinx pressed one final button on the console. Near the top of the massive ship the window that concealed the cockpit began to open. As it did Jinx made her way from the console and in the direction of the elevator that would bring her to the top of the ship.

It was easy to find, almost right next to the Titan's East spaceship, rising up parallel to the large structure almost perfectly. Aqualad stood right by it almost that entire day, his face stern and unmoving as he watched his other teammates. For hours Jinx didn't move a muscle in fear that he would catch even the slightest of foreign movements.

_Kyd always was the lookout for us when we needed him. He would remain as still and silent as a statue, sometimes I wouldn't even know he was there when we came back out until we told him it was time to run._

_ How did he escape? Why did he steal the Titan's ship? Why was he…in a team with someone else?_

"Jinx…what are you doing?"

Jinx did not flinch and was not surprised when she heard Kid Flash call her name. Even though she was a step away from entering the elevator she knew he would come, knew that he would try and stop her.

"How'd you find me?" She asked instead of answering him. She didn't turn around when she answered, she couldn't bear seeing him.

"I went to check on you when I was done getting the Titan's from Europe. When the police told me you had left…I just had a feeling you'd be here."

"You didn't trust me."

"It's not that! It's just…I knew something was bothering you Jinx, remember? I knew it had to do with your old friends, I knew-."

"Well you just know everything don't you!" Jinx shot as she turned to face him.

And then she saw it. In Kid Flash's hurt and surprised face. She saw their faces when she cut off their retreat. She saw the fear, the betrayal, and the pain.

But most of all she saw See-More's face. That face of innocence, the only one who didn't know of what she did. The face he had when they stood against one another outside of the Titan's Tower, it was a face she would never forget.

"If you knew I would do this then why didn't you just throw me in prison!" Pink energy crackled out of her glowing eyes and from around her hands. "Why did you take me in! Why did you make me like you!"

"Because _I_ like you!" Kid Flash declared, taking a step towards her, "I liked you since the first moment I saw you!"

_Mammoth._

"Why…what could you possibly have liked about me?"

"Are you serious! You are like the most awesome chick I have ever met! Even when you were trying to beat the crap out of me and turn me in to the Brotherhood I saw it…you were so intelligent…

_Gizmo._

"…you could do so many things at once, there was so much potential in you, it was almost like you were a speedster like me!..."

_Billy._

"...and at the same time you were so cool and in control, I pretty much froze up in my cell when you looked at me…not literally but you know…"

_Kyd._

"…that's why I didn't give up on you Jinx, that's why I'd stick with you even if no one else does, I like you but your also my friend, the best one I've ever had!"

_…See-More…_

"Please…" Kid Flash begged, taking another step towards, "Don't get on that ship… stay here…stay with me…"

Jinx stared at the cold steel floor. So many things filling her head at once. So many choices. Why did there have to be so many?

But…there wasn't that many…only two….

But…not even that…there was only one…

Jinx needed only one.

"I'm so sorry Wally." Jinx breathed, tears rolling down from her glowing pink eyes. She then threw out her hands, pink energy erupting from them in a wide arc.

Kid Flash tried to run, and he was even fast enough to start moving before her blast hit him. But that was what Jinx was counting on. The energy disappeared when it made contact with the teen, making it seem like it had no effect, but when Kid Flash started to pick up speed his feet suddenly caught together, tripping him mid-stride and sending him flailing into the wall. The speedster crumbled to the ground upon impact and while Jinx's heart pulled at her to check on him she knew she had wasted enough time as it was.

Without looking back Jinx stepped into the elevator, just as the doors across the room burst open.

"What's going on here!" Bumblebee shouted, her eyes immediately falling on Jinx. "Jinx? What are you doing here?"

Jinx stepped off the elevator again without answering, pink electricity sparking off her palms.

She had to make this quick.

**XXXXXX**

See-More was not a fan of the scaly looking stairs. It was bad enough that it was taking him forever to walk down the never ending spiral staircase but just the sinister feeling that they seemed to give off only made him want it to be over with quicker.

"Hey Fixit, can't I just run down the stairs?" See-More asked out loud, in response his vision was suddenly pulled downwards, the eyes shifting until it was at the lens that allowed for his eyesight to see vast distances. "Whoa man hang on!" See-More called out as he tried to steady himself, the suddenness of the action almost made him fall.

"We will continue our descent at the pace we are going." Fixit's voice rang out. See-More stopped moving so he could focus on what Fixit wanted him to see. The spiral staircase reached down for what looked like miles. "If you go any faster you will not have the energy to continue once we've reached the bottom."

"Daaaaang. How many steps do you think that is?"

"It is exactly-."

"Wait, wait, no man, actually, I don't want to know." See-More interrupted before making his way back down the stairs. Fixit fell silent then and the thief continued his solo journey, the only sound being the contact of his feet on each step. "So do you know what exactly I need to have energy before when I- er…we get to that dungeon?"

Immediately his lenses began to shift again until it was at the x-ray vision. His eye was then pulled so it was looking directly at a large room near the center of the numerous hallways that made up the expansive dungeon. Inside that room See- More could see thousands of bodies, they were too far away to make out any details but he could all tell they were focused on what looked like some sort of alter at the far end of the room, and while he could tell there was something on top of it, but he could not tell what.

"Man…that's a lot of people! Do you know what's going on in there Fixit?"

"Unfortunately I am limited to only seeing what you can see."

"Oh…well sorry about that…so those are all Tameranians in there?"

"That is most probable."

"So…are we supposed to fight them all?"

"No. We would lose and be killed."

"Oh…" See-More continued down the stairs waiting for anything further as his vision was allowed to go back to normal, "So…"

"It is in our best interest if Blackfire is with them; there is a high probable chance that she will be with her people."

"I see…so if Blackfire is with them…then we don't have to fight all of the other aliens?"

"Correct."

"And…er…how does that work out?"

"You are going to challenge Blackfire for the crown."

"A crown? Whose crown, Blackfire's?"

"Yes."

"Is it like…really expensive or something?"

"You are missing the point See-More. You are going to challenge Blackfire for rule over Tamaran."

"Wait, I'm going to what!" See-More exclaimed, stopping abruptly, though not knowing where to look at he stared angrily at the ground. "Wait man, I can't rule a planet! I need to rescue my friends, I can't be-"

"Calm yourself See-More, I do not expect you to rule anything."

"Then why-?"

"Continue your descent and I shall explain."

"…fine…" See-More hmphed as he made his way down the spiral stairs again, "So what's the deal man?"

"Challenging Blackfire for her crown will force her to fight you one on one and no one can interfere until a victor has been determined. And should you succeed we shall be able to escape this planet with no interference."

"…do you think I have a chance against her?"

"No. Not without my help."

"But…I thought no one else was allowed to get in the way?"

"Blackfire believes me to be dead, to her and everyone else you will appear to be fighting alone, we shall use that to our advantage."

"So…we're gonna cheat?"

"If you so desire to deem it that way, yes, we are going to cheat."

See-More grinned. "You know Fixit; I think spending so long inside my head is starting to mess with your functionality or whatever."

There was silence for a brief moment before Fixit responded. "My functionality is running at normal capacities and is in no way affected by foreign influence."

"You had to check first didn't ya?"

"The time for questions is over now See-More. I am proceeding to focus on the task ahead, I suggest you clear your mind then do the same."

"Yeah, yeah."

The rest of the journey down the stairs was a very long one, and not just because the distance was so great. As much as See-More tried to clear his mind like Fixit had asked he couldn't get them out of his head. How had things gone so wrong?

One day they were all partners in crime. Doing what they wanted, stealing what they wanted. And while they had first gotten together as a better defense against the Titan's or the police he would like to think they were starting to be more than that. That even against the Headmistress's wishes they were starting to be…friends.

_Kyd Wykkyd was your friend._

His footsteps seemed to echo louder the further he went down the stairs.

_He was your only friend and you abandoned him._

Cold air suddenly pelted his bare chest, sending chills down his body. See-More reached up with his hand to feel his body, the skin was still warm from where Starfire struck him with that bolt.

_He was just trying to protect you from her._

See-More still remembered that look on Kyd Wykkyd's face. That large smile he had when that claw tore into her face and back. It was the exact same smile Raven had when she almost killed him.

_He was turning into something…something I can't…I can't…_

_ And you couldn't be there for him? You couldn't help him?_

_ No! I mean…what could I do? I'm just…I'm just a criminal…_

_ You were also his friend. His only friend. And you left him._

"See-More." Fixit called out suddenly, making the teen jump.

"Wha-?"

"Something troubling you?"

"No…it's just…"

"Kyd Wykkyd."

"I…how…yeah…"

"Continue walking See-More."

"Okay…"

"You are having doubts about leaving Kyd Wykkyd behind."

"Sort of…I mean…I don't think we should have just left him like that!"

"Kyd Wykkyd has begun to succumb to the demon within himself. There is nothing more we can do for him other than keep him from interfering."

"But he's still one of us! We should stick together…no matter what!"

"You speak as if we are all attached in some way. I cannot say what your relationship is with Kyd Wykkyd but neither I nor Red-X hold any such bonds. Blackfire brought us all together to serve her own means, just as I joined to serve my own."

"Why'd you join anyways Fixit?"

"I wished to be human."

"Whoa…really?"

"Yes."

"And Blackfire could make you human?"

"That is what she told me."

"Then we gotta make her explain how to do it!"

"See-More that is not our objective, our objective is to eliminate Blackfire and escape this planet. There is no room for error or for additional objectives."

"Screw objectives man! Blackfire made a promise that she'd make you a human and that's what she's gonna do!"

"Do not be foolish See-More. While there might have been hope earlier I am nothing but a program now, I left any remaining human functions in my previous body, there is no possibility of me becoming human."

"Not if you keep talking like that there isn't! Maybe you forgot but one of the first things about being human, besides getting to do whatever you want, is having lots of hope when there really doesn't look like there should be any! When I got trapped in that Titan's alternate dimension thing I didn't think I'd ever get out, but sure enough I did!"

"You escaped through random circumstance and chance. By no means did 'hope' apply to any of those probabilities."

"Maybe not. But it sure did help in giving me the motivation to keep going, even when it all seemed pretty pointless!"

"That is incredibly foolish and irrational."

"If you wanna be human sometimes you gotta be a little foolish and irrational."

The silence continued again between the two as See-More continued down the stairs. It persisted long enough that See-More could finally make out the very large wooden door that would led them out of the spiral staircase.

"Finally made it!" See-More cheered, this time going down the remaining steps at a much faster pace. "Took long enough, eh Fixit?"

"…do you really believe there is still a chance for me to be human again?"

See-More slowed down in his descent at the question, but a wide smile quickly spread on his face.

"I think there is always a chance that we should at least try!"

"…Very well. Let us meet our destiny See-More."

See-More stopped right before the door, he didn't need his x-ray vision to know that the large room was just behind it. That Blackfire was just behind it.

"Hey…Fixit?"

"Yes?"

"Even though you might not think it, that Red-X is long gone, or that Kyd might be lost forever, I still think we all made a pretty good team. And even though you don't want to admit it I still think you're a pretty good friend, same with Red and Kyd. We're all friends in this and I don't think we should leave without them."

Fixit did not answer right away, but See-More refused to open the door until he got an answer. Finally, after several moments, the program in his head answered:

"Let us focus on one task at a time. We eliminate Blackfire then we locate Red and Kyd."

The grin on See-More's face stretched from ear to ear. "Sounds like a plan to me! And don't forget we gotta find a way to make you human again and how to unfreeze everyone that got caught by the Titans!"

"Of course. Now, after you See-More."

"Right!"

And with that the two friends pushed with one arm, swinging the door open to their destiny.

**XXXXXX**

"Well, well, well who do we have here?" Blackfire announced as the door at the back of the massive room swung open. Thousands of Tamaranian heads turned to see the single figure standing in the light given off from the spiral staircase room. Although his form was cloaked in shadow it was still one that was clearly recognizable.

"Robin!" Beastboy called out from his bound position at the altar. Raven looked up weakly from her own spot but quickly let her gaze fall back to the ground.

"No…" She whispered under her breath.

"Let them go Blackfire!" Robin ordered, shutting the large wooden door behind him and pulling out his bo-staff.

"My, big words coming from a cold hearted killer." Blackfire sneered, slowing walking down the stairs from the altar to the floor where the rest of her people stood. The large crowd of glaring Tameranians parted so that a wide line of space was formed between the two.

"What are you talking about? How are you even here, Starfire banished you!"

"Robin! Blackfire is making them think we killed Starfire!" Beastboy called out "She-!"

"I said enough from you!" Blackfire shouted, pressing a button on the device on her wrist, electricity shooting through both Beastboy and Raven, the two Titans screaming in agony.

"Beastboy! Raven!" Robin cried out in horror, his masked eyes quickly returning to Blackfire, "Let them go Blackfire! I'm not going to warn you again!"

"And just what are you going to do? Kill me like you Titan's did to our beloved princess and king! To my sister and father!" There was real fury in Blackfire's voice, Robin could tell. This wasn't her acting or trying to play the part. There was true malice in her eyes.

"Starfire came here to try and find out what happened to our friends. I see them but where is Starfire? What did you do to her Blackfire?"

"Do _not_ try to place my sister's death on me! I loved her, despite everything she put me through I still loved her with all my heart. And my people loved their princess, just as they did our king. How I would love to end your life myself I believe they have a score to settle with the leader of the group that tore their princess and king away from them, guards!"

At her final word four large Tameranians, dressed in elaborate purple armor. Suddenly rose to the air from the crowd, large spears in their hands and glowing green eyes all focused on the Boy Wonder.

"Detain the murderer! But keep him alive…I'm sure my people would love to watch him suffer with the rest."

The thunderous cheers of the Tameranians rang out just as the guards descended upon Robin. The Titan's leader acted quickly, focusing on the closest guard as he swung down with his spear, pointed end coming dangerously close to Robin's face as he dived out of the way. He landed just in time to bring his staff up to block another blow from the second guard. The guard however kept the pressure on and the Titan was quickly getting overwhelmed by the sheer strength of his opponent.

Looking to either side Robin quickly took note of the remaining two guards quickly moving to attack him at his exposed flanks. He forced himself to hold out against the guard he was blocking against for just several seconds. Then, just as it looked like the other guards were about to pierce him through either side the Boy Wonder shifted all his weight to his right leg and side stepped away from the pressing force.

Though he managed to escape, Robin looked on in dismay as the guard he was entangled with only stumbled a single step while the other two guards managed to stop within inches of colliding. They quickly turned their spears to face him, though they did not attack right away, and Robin instantly realized why.

With less than a second to spare Robin moved with his hips, dodging away from the very sharp tip of the spear as it tore through his cape. But as he watched the rest of the spear slice through he noticed that its bearer was holding it with only one hand. He barely noticed the detail when the force of a freight train collided with the side of his head as the guard sent a fist into him, sending Robin careening into the crowd. The Tameranians quickly ran and flew out of his way, allowing Robin to fly through empty air and skid across solid ground.

Although the pain was intense, it was nothing the Titan leader hadn't felt before. He quickly returned to his feet, and though his vision was slightly blurred he could still see the bright purple armor of the guards as they quickly approached him. His hands feeling strangely empty Robin searched for his staff, but it had become lost somewhere between being hit and hitting the ground.

"Perfect." Robin hissed under his breath.

He then made a run at the guards as they flew towards him. The two sides where mere feet from colliding when Robin reached into his belt and pulled out a small, metallic orb. Throwing it to the ground the small ball immediately broke into a massive cloud of smoke upon impact, easily encompassing the guards and the Titan.

The guards quickly flew up and out of the smoke. They stood hovering above the smoke cloud for several moments before looking at each other and, coming to a general understanding, shifted their spears to one hand. With the other they pointed with open palms at the smoke cloud and without another seconds notice began shooting large bullets of green energy into the smoke.

The sound of the energy blasts quickly filled the chamber, drowning out previous Tameranian jeering and cheering. When the guards finished with their blasts the smoke had finally cleared, revealing nothing but holes where the energy had make contact with the ground.

"Where did he go!" Blackfire called from her position on the altar. Just as she spoke a shadowed figure approached from behind her.

"Right here." Robin spoke, and just as Blackfire whirled on him he spun his body, foot out, the heel of his boot connecting with the side of Blackfire's head, sending the Tameranian off the altar and onto the ground with her people. Her simple, silver crown flying from her hand and landing beside her.

"How dare you!" Blackfire breathed, but before she had a chance to get up Robin was in the air again and landed directly on top of Blackfire, on hand on her chest, the other holding the sharp end of a bird-a-rang to her throat.

"Call off your guards!" Robin ordered, seeing the four in question quickly making their way towards them.

"Do you really think you can hold a Tameranian captive?" Blackfire hissed at him, the hatred in her eyes never leaving as she looked from Robin to someone behind him, "Raven tried and see where it got her? She had to kill her captive just as you killed yours. You humans are too weak to hold us prisoner your only option is to kill us! And being the mindless animals you are you take that choice, you take it with joy!"

"Blackfire what's happened to you! Why are you doing all this!" Robin demanded. Blackfire looked deep into Robin's masked eyes then.

"I am doing only what is expected of someone who has lost everyone they have loved! I am doing only what a Tameranian would do when their entire livelihood is threatened! The Titans will never overcome us; the Earth will pay for what has been done here today!"

"But Starfire is still alive! She should be here somewhe-!"

"Enough!" Blackfire shouted, her eyes moving to somewhere above them, "Forget torture, this Titan dies tonight!"

Not taking any chances Robin leapt away from Blackfire just in time to see three spear tips dig into the air space where he was just at. Blackfire looked unfazed at how close they had gotten to her and she even smiled at Robin as the fourth guard helped her to her feet.

"Do you see how fruitless your attempts are? Even if you do manage to best my guards there are still thousands of my people itching to tear you to shreds."

Blackfire then waved her hand dismissively in Robin's direction and the four guards immediately began to approach the Titan, spears gripped in both hands. Robin immediately fell into a defensive stance, brain rapidly going over each gadget and how best to use it. Though before the fight could kick up again the door at the end of the room suddenly flew open with a loud bang. Robin, Blackfire, the guards, and every Tamaranian turned until they were facing the once again opened doorway where another solitary figure stood in the shadows.

"Who else dares interrupt our ceremony!" Blackfire hollered, flying back to the stop of the altar.

"Er…are we in the right place?" The figure asked out loud, rubbing the back of his head nervously. Robin recognized the voice, but only just barely. Blackfire on the other hand looked very surprised at first, but the surprise quickly melted into a cool, calculated smile.

"See-More. How kind of you to join us."

"What? Oh hey Blackfire! We were hoping you'd be here!"

"We? Who else is with you?"

"Enough of this See-More. Do it now." Another voice, void of emotion and strangely faintly familiar to Robin as well suddenly ordered.

"Huh? Oh yeah! Blackfire, I challenge you for the crown!"

A hush fell over the entire chamber then. Very slowly everyone, including Robin and the guards, turned from the figure in the shadows to Blackfire who stood on her altar, looking stunned and absolutely horrified.

"You…what!"

"I…er…challenge you as….uh…ruler of…Tamaran?"

"You dare attempt to challenge me! No mere human can challenge the rightful heir for her throne!"

Everyone's gaze then turned back to the shadowed figure, who was looking a lot more uncomfortable.

"Oh…really? That uh…sucks…"

"This is true, sister, but you are not the rightful heir!" A voice suddenly called as two new figures suddenly appeared from thin air beside the figure. Robin recognized this voice instantly.

"Starfire!" Robin called out.

"Kyd!" The shadowed figure exclaimed, jumping back in surprise from the two people who suddenly appeared beside him.

"Starfire! My sister is alive?" Blackfire spoke, a large murmuring broke out in the crowd, at which the Tamaranian quickly took notice, "What have you done with my sister! Do you Titans hold her captive in order to taunt us!"

"I am not being held captive!" Starfire declared, attempting to stand on her own only to almost fall, forcing Kyd Wykkyd to grab her around the waist to keep her steady, "You will release my friends at once!"

"Starfire! Blackfire is trying to-!" Robin tried to get out only to have a sudden purple armored arm swing around his field of vision and grip fiercely around his neck, cutting off any chance of further speech as the guard held him in the air.

"Robin!" Starfire cried out trying to move but being held back by Kyd and her own frailty.

"Your 'friends' the Titans have committed a great crime today." Blackfire announced looking gravely at her sister, "I'm afraid I can't allow them to go free."

"What do you mean, what is going on here?" Starfire questioned as she looked around at all of the sullen, glaring faces of her people, "What has happened sister?"

"Galfore is dead."

"…what?"

"See for yourself, sister!" Blackfire then declared, stepping aside to reveal a coffin, big and black, situated at the center of the altar she stood on, "See what your Titans have done to our King and your k'norfka!"

"No…your lying…this is just another lie…" Starfire breathed.

"It is no lie." Blackfire spoke with certainty, "I watched with my own eyes as she tore him apart, piece by piece!" She said this as she pointed to Raven. Raven in turn kept her head downcast, her hair shielding her face from the world. Starfire looked directly at her.

"Raven…is what my sister says…."

"I'm sorry Starfire…" Raven breathed, and it was clear in her voice that she was crying, black energy sparked sporadically around her, "I'm so sorry…"

"No…this can't be…this can't be true…"

"She didn't mean to Starfire! He thought you were-!" Beastboy tried to call out only to have electricity suddenly shoot through his body again, this time it was with enough force to knock him out cold.

"I warned you to keep your little green mouth shut!" Blackfire hissed.

"Damn you…Blackfire…" Robin whispered as he struggled to breathe against the guard's grip.

"Let me go now, Kyd Wykkyd." Starfire spoke; the thief that was holding her looked at her for a moment before slowly releasing his arms, his gaze going back to Blackfire as he stepped away into the shadows. Starfire managed to remain standing, though it was on very shaky legs.

"You sent guards to attack me." Starfire breathed; her head downcast.

"My guards must have mistaken you for someone else sister, we all believed you to be dead! But now you are here and you can fight with us, please Starfire, stand with me, stand with your people."

"Raven…" Starfire spoke, looking up now at her fellow Titan across the room, "Please look at me."

Raven did not move at first, but slowly she brought her head up until her wet eyes were locked with Starfire's clear, green ones.

"Tell me, is it true what my sister says? Did you kill my k'norfka?"

Raven bit her lip, the tears flowed ever harder, but she kept her gaze with Starfire.

"Yes." She managed to choke out before she was forced to look away again, "Yes, Starfire I killed him." The Titan then broke down into silent sobs, unable to get anything else out.

Robin looked frantically between the unconscious Beastboy, the shattered Raven, and finally Starfire, not as still and quiet as stone. Very slowly he felt his heart sink down into his stomach.

"I am with you sister." Starfire breathed, her gaze focused on the ground.

"Starfire, no!" Robin cried, fighting frantically against his captor's grip, only to have the arm wrap tighter around his throat.

"Oh sister you have no idea how happy you have made me!" Blackfire cried, arms open wide, "Together we shall lead our people to victory!"

"But first you must accept the challenge." Starfire spoke, still not looking up.

"What!"

"After I banished you you were no longer entitled to the throne. You may have found your way back into power but anyone now has the right to challenge that power." Starfire then looked sideways at See-More. "You must accept any challenge, and defeat it."

"But, sister-."

"If you do not accept it I shall reclaim my right to rule and make sure your next banishment is much more permanent." Starfire said with an air of finality as she locked gazes with her sister. And while Blackfire glared back she quickly broke the gaze.

"Very well, sister I shall do as my princess commands." Blackfire spoke flying down from the altar as her gaze then shifted to See-More. "Well then murderer, are you ready to die?"

Blackfire's eyes and fists then began to glow purple as she looked on at See-More with a fierce intensity. See-More's whole body grew cold, even the parts that were burned.

"You know Fixit…I'm not so sure about this…" See-More whispered.

"It is the only way." Fixit replied, "Either we fight, or we die."

"Hey! What about that whole hope thing I was talking about earlier, didn't any of that get through to you?

"My apologies. Either we fight, or, I hope, we don't die."

See-More grinned as he placed his hand on the dial, eye focused directly on the glowing Tamaranian.

"Better, now, let's show Blackfire what a couple of humans can do!"

**XXXXXX**

**To Be Continued…**

**XXXXXX**


	24. X Factor

**The Wicked One**

**Chapter 24: X-Factor**

**XXXXXXX**

The wind felt good blowing against his face, even if it was mostly metallic. The Titan's human eye wandered to the sea, it wasn't a hard angle considering the road he was driving on was conveniently situated right beside the ocean. The sun was just now beginning to rise and fill the sky and water with bright oranges and yellows. After driving almost all night it was a welcome sight.

He had turned his music off hours ago and just listened to the sounds of the wind as it soared through his mechanical ears. It had been so long since the accident that he couldn't even remember if the wind sounded like this to a normal ear, it sure didn't sound abnormal to him now, in fact it was quite calming and, coupled with the light coolness, was also somewhat relaxing.

Although he didn't want to admit it Cyborg needed this. He needed a ride in his car; he needed the calm and the quiet. It had been only a few days since Beastboy and Raven were taken but they had been the worst days in Cyborg's life by far. The tower, the ship, everything he had built and spent his life on had been all but destroyed in a single day and, on top of that now, all of his friends had gone to.

Cyborg's hands subconsciously gripped his steering wheel tighter as he made a turn on a particularly narrow bend in the road; he turned his eyes away from the rising sun to focus entirely on his driving.

He never felt more useless than he did now. Beastboy had been taken right under his nose. He always tried to show off how great he was, giving his younger teammates someone to look up to. He couldn't even protect his best friend when it mattered. He couldn't stop Blackfire from destroying their tower and taking Raven. He couldn't stop Starfire from going after her sister alone…and he couldn't stop Robin from going after her.

Cyborg rolled up his window as he stepped harder on the gas pedal.

_Why couldn't I have said anything? Why couldn't I do anything?_

Fixit's face bore into his head. He thought he had changed him, thought he had helped Fixit.

_Why did I fail? Why couldn't I help…anybody?_

The sudden alarm on his car's dashboard broke Cyborg from his dark thoughts. Keeping his human eye on the road he pressed a button near where the small red light was flashing, immediately a screen revealed itself in a previously blank space on the dash, a panicked looking Aqualad appearing on the screen moments later.

"Cyborg! Where are you!"

Sparing Aqualad a confused glance Cyborg one again moved his human eye back on the road.

"I'm on my way to you guys right now, shouldn't be longer than another hour or so…" Aqualad rubbed a hand over his face and looked over at something off screen; it seemed like he wasn't even listening, "What's the deal? What's happened?"

"Someone broke into the tower and attacked Bumblebee; she's really banged up…" Aqualad answered after a moment, still looking off screen. Cyborg had to fight the sudden urge to turn both eyes back to the screen.

"What! Who broke in? Was anyone else hurt?

"Mas and Menos are looking over the security videos now, that Kid Flash guy was there to but I think he was just knocked out…but… Cyborg…"

Cyborg was forced to turn his eyes to the screen then due to the sudden urgency in Aqualad's voice. Aqualad was looking directly back at Cyborg now, his two black eyes looking much more menacing than usual.

"Whoever did this stole the ship as well."

"What!" Cyborg exclaimed, taking a stronger hold on the wheel and forcing his normal eye back on the road as he started to swerve. "I thought the thing wasn't even fit to fly yet, how did this happen!"

"Hey, give us some credit Cyborg," Aqualad answered with a weak attempt at a smile, "We aren't as dense as you might think, the ship just had its engines put in last night so it could fly but…"

"But?"

"Whoever took the ship is making a one way trip, there's no way the engines will last long at this stage."

Cyborg focused both eyes on the road then, lost in thought for a moment. Finally, he let out a single sigh before turning his mechanical eye back to the small screen.

"Alright…alright, I'll be there as soon as I can. Just make sure that Bumblebee and the others will be okay. I'll take care of the ship."

"Cyborg?"

"I gotta go."

And with that Cyborg pressed the same button near the screen; the picture of Aqualad's concerned face vanishing into static. The Titan let out a sigh as he kept his finger against the button.

Just one more time.

Just one more time he wished he could feel the breeze. Just for one more moment he wished everything was the way it should be.

"Calling Titan's East Ship, Code: Cybee118."

He released his finger from the button as static continued to buzz on the screen. It was a long shot that the person who just jacked the ship from him would answer. But it was still worth a-.

"Hey, Cyborg." Jinx suddenly answered, her face suddenly filling the screen.

"Jinx? Wha-?"

"Don't ask what. You know what."

Jinx spoke in deadpanned words, her eyes focused somewhere off screen, reminding Cyborg of Raven, though those kinds of thoughts he had been trying very hard to ignore. Just thinking about them…

"Okay then, why? Why did you take Titan's East ship- my ship? Where are you taking it?"

Jinx didn't answer for awhile as Cyborg drove on down the quiet road, the sun rising ever higher. Finally with a sigh she answered:

"I'm going to save them."

"…Raven and Beastboy?" Cyborg had to ask, even though he was suddenly sure what the answer was. Jinx chuckled dryly in response.

"If that's what you want to think, then sure."

"…What's going on with you Jinx…Aqualad said you attacked Bumblebee…and Kid Fla-."

"They got in my way, simple as that."

"Don't give me that!" Cyborg suddenly shot, both eyes momentarily glaring at the screen; Jinx still didn't look back at him. "You helped us defeat the Brotherhood; Kid Flash said you had changed! Robin trusted you…I trusted you! What happened that made you suddenly change your mind again!"

No answer.

"Jinx…" Cyborg tried to calm his temper, saying her name slowly, "I'm putting in an override to the ship. You are gonna have to come back and explain to all of us about what's going on..."

The pink trickster closed her eyes for a brief moment, slowly taking in and releasing a breath. She then opened her eyes and finally looked at Cyborg through the screen.

"Goodbye."

Jinx then raised her arm in a very quick moment. Before the Titan could react, pink energy suddenly shot from her fingertips. The screen immediately began to short circuit and a last picture of Jinx's unemotional face was all Cyborg saw before his own screen suddenly burst in a shower of pink electricity.

The energy did not stop there however. It reached out through Cyborg's car, though it appeared to have affected nothing…that is until Cyborg tried to turn the steering wheel in preparation for another narrow bend.

Odd…the steering wheel won't turn…no matter how hard tried to turn it…

His car went uninhibited towards the very fragile fencing that separated the road from the sea below.

How…unlucky….

Cyborg lost all traces of fear and panic suddenly as he allowed his single human eye to close, removing his hands from the wheel.

For just…one more second…he wished-

All thoughts were then interrupted as the T-Car easily shattered through the wooden barrier and plummeted into the sea, floating for only a moment before sinking into the depths below…

**XXXXXX**

I tried not to think of anything as I watched what unfolded around me.

Starfire being embraced and handled by her thousands of fellow Tameranians, all weeping and sobbing pitifully at her sudden arrival.

The two Titans held in chains at the back of the room. They looked more like sacrificial lambs than people. I tried to ignore Happiness's voice inside my head as I looked away from them.

And…him…Robin, the Titan's leader. It was oddly ironic that one of the few times I see the supposed brave and heroic hero is when he is being held forcibly against his will. A prisoner. Like all the other Titans have become. My claw twitched as I looked upon his masked face but I kept such desires in check. If even a handful of the aliens in this room had the power Starfire had there was no way I'd even have a chance of getting close to him.

With left me with…

"Dang, Blackfire!" See-More called as he hopped away from several of the Tameranian's bolts of energy, "You're getting better with your aim, you been practicin'?

"Do not patronize me insect!" Number 26 replied to See-More's almost genuine praise with a hiss. "In seconds you'll be nothing more than a stain on my dungeon floor!"

My….friend. See-More. Fighting Blackfire, seemingly holding up his own…with help from Fixit I'd imagine…but still.

"Speak one more word and I swear it will be your last!" Number 26 cried, black hair flowing wildly around her as she threw constant energy blasts, a very much twisted smile on her face, "I'll crush your little throat with my bare hands before I'm through with you!"

Number 26 isn't holding back. Whatever cool, controlling air she seemed to have had around her before was all but gone. She was different now. Different from the Blackfire that controlled me. And much different from the young girl I thought was my friend so long ago. Whoever she was now she was looking for more than just beating See-More. She was trying to kill him.

I felt another twitch then. Though it was in my legs this time. I rose to a standing position in the darkness.

_You cannot help us._

A voice in my head, the last voice I wanted to hear right now.

_I'm helping See-More, not __**you.**_ I thought back, making sure my thoughts had every inch of malice I could fit in them. At first I thought it had succeeded when Fixit didn't answer right away, the instant satisfaction was quickly diminished.

_This is a fight for the crown. No one can interfere or See-More dies here and now._

It took a few moments for me to process this_._

_No. At least, that is not our ultimate objective. This is the only scenario where we come out victorious. See-More and I are outnumbered and outmatched any way you perceive it. This scenario had the highest rate of success._

I thought on this for a moment as I watched See-More continue to dodge Number 26's attacks, occasionally using a laser ray from his eye to keep her at a distance.

_It doesn't look like you guys are holding out to good._

Another span of time where Fixit didn't answer. Being so used to his habit at being able to answer immediately it only took a few seconds of silence to know when there was a problem.

_Even in this best case scenario the odds of success are still below average._

…_sounds like you guys could use help._

Another few seconds of silence.

_It would be appreciated._

_You know this would have been a lot easier if you didn't push your whole team away._

Even though I knew it was pointless it had to be said. Even if Fixit would now berate me with his logical reasons for leaving Red-X and I behind. Even if-

_I know, and I am sorry._

Well then…that was…unexpected.

_You're…sorry?_

_See-More has taught me about…hope. Something I had forgotten after my previous life. It is flawed, illogical, and irrational but I see now that it is the only thing we have in our favor. So I am asking you, Kyd Wykkyd, for your forgiveness and your assistance. If you give me these two things I promise to you that I shall never suffer from another error in judgment when it comes to my…teammates. _

To say that I was surprised would be an understatement. For such a long time I thought Fixit had no semblance of being human left in him…especially after his detachment from his body, and whatever human parts were left in there, but hearing him now… I could almost picture that human scientist version I saw when I first met him, though not as a hologram…as an actual living thing.

I looked down at the black and purple claw; it twitched reflexively under my gaze.

If someone like Fixit could still hold on to his humanity…then maybe…

_Kyd Wykkyd? Is something the matter?_

Fixit's voice in my head quickly snapped me back to reality.

_No, nothing. I'm helping. What do you need me to do?_

Another, although this time unexpected, pause.

_I need you to…free the Titans._

I quickly looked from the two chained heroes to Robin. It was not exactly an enticing idea.

_Why?_

Another pause, this one longer than all the other combined. His plan was already starting to form inside my head, I thought I was going to be sick. I really hoped I was wrong.

_We need their help._

Nope.

_No. I'm sorry but I can't do that._

_And why is that?_

_Because! Because…_

Because Robin killed my friend. Because I want to kill Robin, not ask for his help. I want to be his enemy, not his ally.

Thankfully it appeared quite easy to separate the thoughts I wanted Fixit to hear and the ones I didn't want him to…actually it was quite odd that I could do that…Regardless I took it as a good omen for now.

_Because they are our enemies…_

I hoped Fixit couldn't pick up tone through brainwaves or whatever he is using to communicate with me. I couldn't exactly say I had a practiced skill with lying and while it wasn't exactly a lie it wasn't the whole truth either…and even that much seemed to add a weight to my thought words.

_Enemies or not we will not likely succeed in our escape without their assistance_.

Whether Fixit picked up that I wasn't telling him everything or not was unsure but it definitely did not convince him.

_But…how do you know they will even help us?_

_I cannot be positive about it. But Blackfire is an enemy to the Titans. Currently a direr enemy than either you or See-More. Logically they would focus their efforts on Blackfire and her associates…however…_

_Humans aren't always logical._

I could easily picture Fixit nodding in that philosophical way he does. Eyes closed and in deep thought.

_Indeed. But it is a minor setback at most. In every scenario I have discovered Robin will attempt to free Raven and Beastboy if he himself is freed. This will keep the guards attention and potentially distract Blackfire at key points and lead to her defeat._

I looked from Robin to See-More and Number 26 still having their death dance. While my friend still seemed capable of avoiding the alien's attacks and keeping her at a distance I could clearly see the fatigue getting to him.

…_and you're sure this is the best way I can help See-More?_

_It is the only way I'm afraid. Unless you believe you can distract the guards and the rest of these Tameranians by yourself._

I looked at the three guards that hovered in the air slightly above the crowd and the remaining one that held Robin effortlessly with one arm. Each was dressed in very flamboyant and sharp purple armor, coating every part of their body, a spiked helmet covered each head, revealing nothing of the face save for two glowing purple eyes. In each of their hands was a very long and dangerous looking spear. Switching my gaze to the crowd itself I could see hundreds and hundreds of fit looking and unstable aliens, all with potentially the power of Starfire and Number. A chill ran down my spine.

_Okay, fine, I'll try and get the Titan's to help…but I'm not sure how I'll be able to convince them…or how good we'd even do against an army of Num- Blackfire's…_

_I am afraid I cannot guide you on how to sway the Titans, though I believe not many Tameranians possess powers to the extent of Blackfire, Starfire, or even Blackfire's guards. Many may have great strength and endurance but the ability to fly and use energy as a weapon is a rarity._

_Ah…so just an army of supernaturally strong warriors…that's so much better._

_Just keep your focus on the guards and never stay still in once place. I believe Starfire will strive to keep her people out of harms way._

_Here's hoping._

I then gripped my cloak, eyes focused on the guard holding Robin.

_Kyd Wykkyd._

Fixit's voice suddenly echoed in my head again, prompting me to lose my focus for a moment.

_Er…yeah?_

_Good luck._

Surprised, I quickly had to force back a smile that tried to surface on my face.

_Thanks, you to…and tell See-More…_

Tell him what? I'm sorry? Please forgive me? It all sounded so petty and futile in my head.

_I shall tell See-More you wish him luck as well Kyd Wykkyd…and I would not worry, it was his intention to go back for you after we had finished here._

Fixit remained silent after that and I knew he would remain so until further notice. I couldn't fight back the small smile that escaped on my face that time.

Okay, let's get this over with.

In a swift motion I pull my cape around my body using my one good hand, disappearing once again into the familiar darkness. For the short instant that I floated in that frozen abyss the pointed fingers on my claw stretched outwards, sensing the battle ahead. I swore to myself I would do my best to deny them the bloodshed I knew they craved.

I reappeared back into the world directly behind the guard who was holding Robin, the only one who remained on the ground. I saw his helmed head begin to turn in my direction as soon as I appeared, but I would not give him long to react.

Using all the strength and built in momentum I had I turned my body, sending a kick into the alien's exposed side. The impact was enough to send jolts of pain up and down my leg, but the guard barely seemed to react at all. Instead he merely turned all the way around so that he was facing me, dropping the spear along the way. Strange…did my attack make him drop it?

Not wasting any time I spun again, this time aiming another kick straight for his face. My foot hit solidly again but as I tried to retract it I found that it suddenly became impossible to move. Still at the awkward position of having my entire body stretched out horizontally from the kick I turned my head just enough to see the large, purple armor-clad, hand gripping my foot.

_Uh oh._

Fruitlessly I tried to pull my leg free, but the relaxed way the alien seemed to grip my foot might as well have been a steel bear trap. And before I could think of how to proceed next the purple monster threw me in the air with a casual flick of his arm.

Random images flew through my vision as I hurtled towards the roof. I didn't even have enough time to tell what I was looking at or who was there before the image changed. I desperately grabbed for my cloak before I was to make a very solid impact with the top of this dungeon. Gripping what felt like one of the ends of my cape I quickly pulled it over me, tucking in my legs and claw as I did so.

I vanished again into darkness. My claw again twitched. It wanted attention. It knew I couldn't do anything without it.

I gritted my fanged teeth. I refused to give it the satisfaction.

I reappeared in the air, still curled into a ball, only now it was right over the guard who had thrown me. I pulled myself toward, twirling rapidly in the air, aiming straight down at the guard. At the last instant I kicked my leg out, letting the heel clip the top of his helmet before throwing it downwards as I landed.

I struck the ground and staggered to keep my balance. The blow was again solid and painful; I was forced to keep most of the pressure off my right foot as I attempted to stand again. The clatter of metal on stone rang in my ears as a purple helmet rolled along the floor. I looked up farther to see the alien guard was now hunched over. A less resistant Robin was still in his arm, looking shocked as his gaze switched from the alien to me. My eyes remained on the guard. He had leaned forward, but his feet haven't left the spot since I first attacked him.

Slowly the Tamaran guard rose back to his full height, the missing helmet revealing long, red hair and very bright, very angry purple eyes. I noticed Robin trying to struggle again, his arms were pinned to his sides but it was his hands that seemed to be moving the most, fingers trying to extend towards the belt around with waist.

I could only look on for another moment before the guard suddenly raised his free hand, an instant later purple energy exploding from it. With no time to reach for my cape I spun away from the bolts of energy as they shot out like cannon fire towards me. The Tameranians around us quickly moved aside to make room for the sudden show down. Faintly I could hear Starfire calling my name. Actually…it sounded like a warning… I looked around as I dodged the energy only to see three more guards descending on me from above.

_Oh yeah…there were four…_

I mentally slapped myself for how long this was taking. Robin should have been freed before I had to worry about the other guards.

My claw twitched again, sensing my stress.

_Damn it, fine. I'll use you, but there __**won't**__ be blood._

As I continued to dodge I forced my clawed fingers to constrict and form a fist. They resisted, knowing my intentions, but it was the only way. I looked around one final time, it was only another second or two before the other guards reached me.

I stopped in place, quickly ducking over another succession of energy bolts before using my human hand to pull the cape over me. I pulled the claw back as I entered the darkness, I would need all the free time I could gather.

I appeared back into the world a second later right in front of the guard holding Robin, hoping my gamble paid off. Sure enough he was busy looking behind him, preparing for another strike in the back.

_Surprise._

Taking a rather loud step forward I threw the demonic fist into the face of the alien as he tried to look back in my direction.

I expected the impact. I expected it to feel like hitting a brick wall. What I did not expect was the sudden, bone-white, spikes to suddenly shoot out from the demonic hand right before it made contact with the alien's now fully exposed face.

All I could do was let out a silent gasp as the blow made contact. The sound of crunching bone and torn flesh was all I could hear for a splint instant before the Tamaran was sent off his feet and sailing through the air, dropping the Titan somewhere along the way before finally smacking into the wall some distance away. I watched the guard sink to the ground waited for him to get up as Robin landed smoothly somewhere beside me.

He did not get up.

"What…was that!" The Titan's leader called out, shaking me from my stupor. I quickly looked down at the demon hand before turning my body so that I was standing between it and him. The strange spikes were gone but it was definitely coated in blood now.

I didn't answer as the Titan quickly began to approach me. This was the moment. Would he choose to fight me here and now? Or would he go after his friends?

The now extended clawed fingers twitched. It was pretty clear what it wanted.

Robin got close enough to be able to touch me by simple extending his hand before he spoke again.

"Hey! I said-!" His mask seemed to catch something beside us however and before I could react the Titan suddenly slammed into me.

So that's his answer then…

The claw was already preparing for its next meal.

However as he shoved into me I suddenly took notice of the spear that suddenly cut through the air where I had just been standing.

_ Oh…_

I forced the claw back into a fist as the Titan and I stumbled backwards, trying to keep our balance. While the first guard had missed the other two were now flying rapidly in our direction, spears pointed forwards and ready to pierce our heads. Being in the more favorable position I quickly gripped the Titan's shoulders and shoved him aside, helping him to avoid the spear that nearly split through his head before ducking to avoid the one sent into my own.

Both spears retracted immediately, already prepared to assault again. I leapt backwards and took quick note of Robin quickly attempting to side step his opponent as the two guards split off to chase us both down. The third guard merely stood where he first missed us, clearly looking for an opening.

I wouldn't make it easy for him.

I quickly pulled my cape over myself again as the guard gunning for me tried to gut me through the middle. In the darkness I held the demon fist above my head and tucked in my legs, preparing for the fall.

The fall that came a split second later as I reappeared in the air over the guard who had not moved. I fell down towards him, fist ready to smash down on his unsuspecting head. Unsuspecting until he suddenly looked up right at me. Without a moment's hesitation he switched his spear to one hand, the now free one aimed right up towards me before firing a series of energy bolts.

I didn't have time to quickly react. In that split second I remembered the claw resisting the power of Starfire's eye beams…maybe…

Without another moment's pause I brought down the fist from above my head and simply began swinging it wildly in the air I was rapidly falling down through. I watched almost in awe as the first of the bolts of energy was simply battered away…and then another…and another… As it swatted away the energy as if they were no more than pesky flies I felt my claw begin to move again on its own, removing the threat of the blasts with more precision and skill, I no longer felt as if I was the one moving it any longer. The fear that produced was too late however as the claw suddenly reached out for the helmed guard's face when I had fallen close enough. The guard thankfully reacted quickly enough to avoid it as I landed, but before I could even gain my footing the claw suddenly lurched forward, nearly taking me off my feet.

More than likely surprised at my sudden onslaught the guard swung wildly at my side. The claw reacted quicker than I could, reaching down to interrupt the swing and gripped the pole of the spear, right below the bladed end, stopping it in its tracks. Even wearing his helmet I could tell the guard was just as shocked as I was. He attempted to pull the pole from the demon claw's grip, but to no avail. I felt something focus on the back of my head and, turning my head slightly, I could see the guard who was previously attacking me before I had vanished already sailing towards me again, spear extended and looking to pierce me in the back.

But before either of us could do anything the claw acted on its own. With shocking strength it pulled the spear it was gripping and thrust it over and around my shoulder, forcing me to turn around in order to keep my balance while the hapless guard was sent flying off his spear, taking too off guard from the burst of strength. I did not have the time to focus on where that guard was sent however when I felt the claw suddenly stop.

I looked to where it was, still gripped firmly on the pole of the spear, but the blade itself was missing…but not missing…it was hiding…somewhere deep inside the chest of the guard who had attempted to attack me from behind.

The guard in question dropped his own spear with a final clatter as he gazed down at the wound in his chest. I looked down at it to, deep crimson blood dripping from it like some squished juice box. I could feel the claw bathing in it all like it was some lavish bath. The Tamaran then looked back up at me, gripping the wrist of my more normal arm. I looked into his glowing purple eyes…and kept looking even after the glow had faded and the grip had left my arm.

It took a tremendous amount of effort but I forced the claw to release its grip on the spear, letting it and the body it was still attached to fall to the ground. I looked around me then. Seemingly thousands of Tameranians were still gathered, some now looking on at me with a mixture of fear and horror, but still more had their eyes glued to the contest between Number 26 and See-More that still raged somewhere across the room, while still more were now discreetly being ushered out of the room, being led by a very frightened looking Starfire who was attempting to get her people out of this quickly turning massacre.

_At least Fixit was right about that…_

I tried to take a deep breath to settle my nerves, forcing my eyes away from the bloody mess beside me. It was nothing I haven't seen before. I don't have time to think about this. About anything besides on helping See-More…on helping…

"Gah!" Robin suddenly cried out as I watched him skid across the now much more spacious ground as more and more Tamarans began exiting the ground. He looked positively thrashed compared to the calm and composed Tamaran that was slowly making his way towards the Titan leader. Guess he hasn't seen how his other comrades have been faring.

I had to hand it to the Titan…he was at least a decent distraction. I made to head towards the two but the sound of someone landing on their feet forced me to spin back around in place. This unfortunately met seeing the dead guard again, though a not so dead guard stood over him now. Judging from his undamaged face I quickly discerned that it wasn't the one that got hit in the face. He bent down, whispering something unintelligible to his dead comrade before standing up again and removing the spear from the other guard's chest.

The guard then removed his own helmet and, letting it clatter to the floor, he held up his spear, pointed end dripping in blood as he pointed it towards me. The glowing purple eyes glowed viciously under red hair that was cropped much shorter than the one I had punched, revealing every detail of his anger as he glared at me.

"Don sta, mach ran!" The guard hissed, and while I could not understand what he said, it was easy to tell it meant nothing good.

The claw's fingers flexed, sensing the challenge. But I couldn't let it attack again…

_But what can I do without the claw?_

The claw opened and closed its fingers. The blood it had drunk was not enough. Not nearly enough.

_But it will kill again…can I let it kill again?_

The Tamaran lowered his spear, only slightly, as he began to walk towards me.

_But without the claw…he will kill me for sure…_

I found myself having to force the claw from rising on its own.

_But if I keep this up…I might lose myself again…_

_**Would that be such a bad thing?**_

A voice inside my head, different from mine, different from Fixit's. It was a voice that dripped with malice. A voice that send instant chills throughout my entire body.

_**Just let go. Give in to your desire. Isn't that what we really want in the end?**_

It was a cold voice. Colder than ice…and just as cold as the darkness I always slipped into...

_Who are you!_

I backed away subconsciously, though I couldn't help but continue to notice the guard's unstoppable advance towards me, glowing eyes still filled with the intent to kill.

Laughter filled my head. It was not a happy laugh, or an uncontrolled one. It was an amused chuckle, a noise that nearly sent me to my knees.

_**We both know who we are.**_

The claw then raised itself fully, clawed finger tips pointed directly at the approaching alien, and no amount of my willpower or effort could force it down, even when I tried to grip the arm with my other hand.

_**That's**__ because __**we **__aren't __**trying **__to __**stop **__it._

I felt my foot take a step forwards. The guard, almost instantly, stopped his approach. I saw something in his exposed face. The anger had faded slightly…replaced with…fear…

_**Fear **__of __**us**__, fear __**of**__ what __**we **__will __**do.**_

I smile crept up on my face. It wasn't my smile and it was my smile. I took another step with a foot that wasn't my foot and was my foot. As the Tamaran took a step back the claw that wasn't my claw and was my claw suddenly reached forwards.

_I could smell the blood._

_ Soon I will taste the blood._

_ Just a little closer and I will taste the-._

"Hang on Kyd I got ya!" A voice suddenly cut through the stillness that I had found myself in. A second later the guard had vanished from my field of vision as a red laser beam suddenly struck him from the side, sending him far down the room…seconds away from the claw gripping his face.

The claw…the claw! Quickly gaining control I forced the claw into a fist and pinned it to my side. The voice in my head seemed like a bad dream when I turned to see See-More's beaming face standing only a few feet away, hands on his hips and breathing heavy.

"Fixit said…you…couldn't…help me…but he never…said…I couldn't…help…you!" My friend said between deep breaths. I could only look back at him in amazement. A small smile flitted over my face as I tried to think on how to ask him how he dealt with Number 26.

The answer came an instant later.

"Don't think you can ignore me, SEE-MORE!" A voice built with fury suddenly declared.

I could only look on in horror as Number 26 suddenly appeared, floating behind See-More. My friend did not even have the time to turn before she sent a kick against the side of his head.

I cried out in my head as loud as it could go as See-More's body sailed helplessly through the air before slamming against the wall. I watched him slide down into the ground. Waited on stone cold feet for him to get up.

He didn't get up.

_See-More…_

I tried to move but I couldn't feel my legs anymore.

_See-More…!_

I tried to take a step but ended up falling to my knees instead.

_SEE-MORE!_

Number 26 looked at where he lied motionless on the ground before nodding, satisfied. She then turned to look down at me, a proud smile gracing her disgustingly beautiful face.

"The contest is over. It is time to eliminate the rest."

It was an order given in an almost hushed tone, but it was apparently loud enough for the owners of the strong hands that suddenly gripped my arms and held them apart, taking care to avoid the claw that was now freely trying to grasp at anything around it. I looked to either side, expecting more purple armored guards, only to see regular dressed male Tamarans. Apparently Starfire didn't manage to get all of her people to safety. Despite them not wearing armor the alien's strength was still more than enough to keep me from moving, not that I had much willpower left to do anything.

I looked from Robin who was himself pinned to the ground by one of the remaining guards, to the two Titans who remained chained up, to the quiet body of my more than likely dead friend.

_Guess that's it then._

I let my head sink downwards. Even the claw suddenly stopped in its trashing. I could hear footsteps approach me.

_Guess the plan failed, Fixit._

"It was a valiant effort, I must admit." Number 26's mocking echoed into nothingness in my head. "But it is time to clean up this mess."

_Guess it failed…because of me._

_Do not be so hard on yourself._

A voice in my head said this. Fixit's voice.

_Fixit?_

_Have hope Kyd Wykkyd. See-More still lives and this is not over._

_But…how?_

_Because we still have Plan X._

_Plan...-_

"No…" Number 26 breathed, her voice quickly regaining its anger, "How did you find-."

"Best thief in the world, remember?"

A presence was suddenly behind me when there was previously no one there. I looked to my sides to see my captors had noticed it as well. But before they could react a black gloved hand suddenly gripped itself on both of their faces. An instant later red binding quickly wrapped themselves around the alien's faces. The two quickly released their grip on me to try and pull the binding from their faces, though it seemed to do little good even with their strength.

With my new freedom I could only remain on my knees and turn my head to see the almost angelic figure of Red-X. Standing in all his glory as he eyed Number 26 through his skull-masked eyes.

"No! That's impossible!" Number 26 continued to cry, fists glowing purple, "How did you find-!"

She was cut off however when a red x shaped object suddenly flew through the air, smacking her face and wrapping specifically around her mouth, effectively cutting off her words.

"You know I've been meaning to say, babe, you're a lot prettier with that mouth closed." Red-X taunted, earning a death-like glare from Number 26 before she extended her hands, sending energy bolts at him. I watched as Red-X vanished- wait, vanished!

Like he wasn't even there Red-X was gone, the bolts of energy flying harmlessly through the air space he was just in. I thought maybe I had imagined the entire thing for an instant before Red-X suddenly appeared, standing in between Number 26 and I.

"Uh uh uh, didn't your daddy ever teach you any manners?"

This earned a particularly furious cry from Number 26 before she attempted to send a fist straight for Red-X's head. The master thief easily ducked from the blow and quickly send a palm against Blackfire's stomach.

"Now I'm gonna warn you…this will sting a bit…"

And with that red electricity surged through Number 26, her muffled cries drowned out by the crackling energy. The alien princess collapsed to her knees after Red-X had removed his hand all fight seemingly drained out of her.

"Now you just sit there and think about what you did." Red-X scolded before turning around so that he was facing me. I looked from the very recently defeated Blackfire to the masked thief who was looking down at me.

"Hey there Kydo, need a hand?"

He then extended his gloved hand towards me; reflexively I reached out with the claw, earning an awkward cough from the thief.

"Ah, other hand please, I'm allergic to demon."

Bowing my head slightly in apology I reached with the other hand and gripped Red-X's, allowing him to pull me to my feet. I felt as if I would fall as soon as I stood but the thief quickly gripped my shoulder, hand still clenched in mine.

"Man these guys really did a number on yall huh?" Red-X asked me, I could almost see the playful smile behind his mask, "Good thing I decided to stop by and check on you kids."

I didn't know what to say, even if I could say anything. My eyes drifted from the masked face to the teen who risked his life for me, still lying face down on the ground, the mechanical man ever fighting for victory inside of him.

How can they all be so strong? How can I be so weak compared to them?

This all started because I wanted to be strong and save my old teammates…how did things get so screwed up to where I was the one who needs saving? I clenched my fists.

"Ow, hey man take it easy there, I only got four fingers there!" Red-X muttered, releasing our perpetual handshake. I wanted to hug him. Though I quickly took a step away to prevent that from happening. Red-X folded his arms, sizing me up, before looking over to where See-More still lay.

"Well you guys look like crap…where's Fixit? Dead?"

I looked at See-More as well before turning back to Red-X. I wanted to shake my head, but that wasn't a very good explanation. I raised my good hand and, keeping it horizontal, I tilted it from side to side, trying to say 'eh, kinda'. Red-X's cocked head clearly showed that I should have stuck to shaking my head.

"This…only…delays the inevitable…" Number 26 spoke up, fire still in her words.

"My, my, speaking again already?" Red-X commented as he turned to face her, "I guess that electricity got rid of my binding, a pity."

"You will regret using such a tone with me!" Number 26 spat, slowly attempting to rise to her feet, "You stand in the halls of Tamaran's palace! You will find no mercy and no compassion here! Only slow and painful death!"

"I guess I should really read the brochure next time I plan a vacation." Red-X quipped, taking a defensive stand. I gripped my cape, my eyes dancing from See-More to Robin to the remaining Titans. Though as I did this a sea of angry orange faces filled my vision.

The plan was not over, not by a long shot. But we still had a long way to go.

"My people!" Number 26 cried, finally rising to feet and into the air again, "Today is where we make our stand! This is the moment where the enemy tastes its first defeat! Squash the insects that dare attempt to usurp us from our homes! Bring death upon those that would bring destruction upon our home and families! My people! It is time-!"

Number 26 was suddenly interrupted in her speech as the noise of a horrible avalanche echoed loudly throughout the entire expanse of the dungeon. The air itself began to shake and pieces of stone from the ceiling and walls began to break off. Hundreds of Tamaran's cried in terror and fled towards the exit as larger debris began to fall around us.

"What is happening!" Number 26 cried out to one of the guards. The one who wasn't holding Robin flew over to her, some hologram glowing from his wrist.

"An unidentified spacecraft my queen!" The guard answered, his heavily accented voice filled with panic, "It has crashed right through the palace walls, it appears to be-!"

But the guard's shouts were cut off as well when an even louder noise interrupted as something exploded through the roof. What Tamarans that still hadn't escaped the room flew off in random directions as the very large object slowly sunk further through the roof, sending dusk and debris in every direction, Red-X and I were forced to cover our faces with our cloaks as the dust flew out like a storm towards us.

It took several long seconds for the dust to finally clear. But nothing prepared me for what appeared when the horribly loud noises quieted down and the roof and walls stopped caving in.

A spaceship, or what was left of it, stuck out from the ceiling of the very large dungeon room. Fire and pieces of metal and stone seemed to take up what still remained of the ship, but one thing clearly stood out.

The cockpit, made out of apparently impenetrable glass, rested a few inches above the ground, and only a few meters from where Red-X and I stood. In it I could just make out a figure, but it was enough to make my entire body freeze over.

Very slowly, those that still remained in the room watched as the cockpit's large, indestructible window opened, and from the still clearing dust stepped out a girl, no older than 17 or 18, with dark purple and black clothes and bright pink hair.

She landed on the ground with a cat-like grace before looking around the room at everyone who could only stare back at her in awe. She only stopped when her bright pink eyes found me. I felt my insides freeze over as she squinted at me. Maybe she wouldn't recognize me-.

"Hey Kyd." She greeted with a sheepish smile and a polite wave. The only thing I could possibly think to do was raise my own hand in greeting. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Red-X lean slightly towards me.

"Damn, why couldn't I get an entrance like that?"

**XXXXXX**

**To Be Continued…**

**XXXXXX**


	25. Yearning

**The Wicked One**

**Chapter 25: Yearning**

**XXXXXX**

It had become a war.

We danced around the aliens, the still collapsing rubble, the starbolts from the guards and Blackfire. It was an odd team we four made. All agile, all quick on their feet, the more strength driven enemies we fought had a hard time pinning any one of us down. And when they did Red-X or I could be there in an instant, giving us the advantage.

We were certainly a force to be reckoned with but we weren't without our faults. One good hit from any of these aliens could put us out of the fight. It was also clear that Red-X was not used to fighting in a group, more than once we almost collided with one another after teleporting. The Titan seemed to be holding his own grudge with Jinx throughout the entire ordeal, although I wasn't exactly happy to see her I at least was aware of our situation enough not to let my personal feelings get in the way. The Titan…not so much.

He would glare at her any free second he had and if I was not mistaken one or two of those boomerang things seemed to aim right for her before conveniently hitting one of the Tamarans that were trying to strike her. Jinx on the other hand seemed to focus more on avoiding us, moving on to the next battle whenever Red-X or I appeared to give her back up, and while I couldn't exactly complain I was aware that this distance was putting her at risk more often than not.

None of us spoke to one another while we fought for our lives, well, not counting the occasional one liner I'd sometimes overhear from Red-X whenever I happened to end up around him. This fact remained true for a good while until I happened to land right beside Robin after slamming one of the Tamaran's faces into the floor from behind, this was about the third time I had done this to this poor, particular individual so I was pretty confident he was out cold this time.

"Hey, can we talk for a second?" The Titan suddenly spoke up, breaking me from my observation of my defeated foe. I couldn't help but flinch at his voice, in the back of my mind I had been preparing for him to try and attack me when I was least expecting it, in the middle of a battlefield would be as good a place as any.

I turned on him; cloak in hand, only to see him focusing his attention on his surroundings, apparently making sure that we weren't going to be attacked while we talked. I looked around us as well. Both Red-X and Jinx appeared to be fighting the two remaining purple guards while what remained of the rest of the aliens looked on, more than likely looking for an opening, Number 26 was in their midst in the air, even her attention seemed to be focused on them for the moment.

"Look, I'll put this simply; I need your help with something." Robin spoke; I turned my attention back to him, doing my best to hide the confused expression I wanted to express.

He wants my help? Is he just desperate? Or-?

"I don't know who you are but I know for sure that those two can't be trusted." The Titan continued, his masked eyes flashing back to the battle scene that was taking place across the room, I glanced over as well. Apparently a few of the aliens noticed our absence already; a few were making their way towards us.

Wait…did he just say he didn't know who I was?

"I'd introduce myself but it doesn't look like we'll have the time, do you see those two over there?"

The Titan then points, I follow his finger to the two Titans that were still chained up on the altar. I look back to Robin and nodded slowly. How can he not recognize me? I know we never really fought face to face before but Raven knew me…and after that whole deal with the Brotherhood of Evil wouldn't they have files on everyone who was there…

Oh.

I think this as I touch my face. Right. My cowl got destroyed; Robin's looking at some kid with white hair and red eyes right now. I quickly run the hand through my hair to make the gesture more casual looking.

"Do you think you can bring us to them? Their friends of mine, strong friends, they should be able to help us if we can free them."

I look from him to the two chained up people again. Would Raven still recognize me without my cowl? Would she try and attack me regardless?

I still had those images of her rage beating me mercilessly. It felt like I had been in that hell for months even though it was only a few hours at most. That thing made my claw look like a child's play toy. What if it came out…there'd be no hope for us then…

"C'mon!" Robin yelled impatiently, snapping me from my thoughts, "They're getting closer, if we're going to do this it has to be now!"

Risk or no risk I had to try. This was Fixit's plan from the start. If I could not even do this much then what was the point of even saying I would help?

I nodded without bothering to look at how close we were from getting attacked. I could feel my claw moving as I stepped up right in front of Robin. I was a good few inches taller than him. It would be so easy to kill him right now as he looked up at me full of expectation. The battle has really made him desperate, to trust a stranger this much. I should really make him pay for being so relaxed, for not seeing me as a threat, he doesn't know anything. He doesn't know what he did to my life; he doesn't know how bad I want to-.

I reach out with my good hand and gripped Robin on the shoulder. He flinches in surprise but doesn't do anything further, still looking right into my eyes with that calm controlled gaze of his. My claw twitched again.

It would be so easy to gut him right here. Just ram my claw into his stomach and drink my fill. It would be so easy…

The Titan then whirled his head to the side.

"Look out!" He cried, moving to grip my shoulder as well. I didn't give him time to do anything further. I took my claw and reached out…

I could not feel the fabric as I gripped the cloak but I knew with a quick glance that it was in my claw. Without another moment's pause I pulled the cape over us just as I felt multiple presences descend upon us.

I felt the Titan tense for a moment as we vanished into the cold blackness. I wondered if it scared him… The thought vanished as we left the darkness and reappeared right in front of the two Titan's chained up against the pillars.

"Beastboy! Raven!" Robin called, rushing up to them. I hung back and looked back out into the room. The multiple Tamarans that tried to ambush us were already looking around frantically to where I could have reappeared. It was long past time for any of them to be confused by my powers, we had to be fast or we will be attacked again. I turn back around to see Robin examining the green one; it looked as though he had passed out at some point. I also couldn't help but notice the familiar looking metallic collars that were around his and Raven's neck, though even if I could warn Robin about them…there really was no point.

"Beastboy! Beastboy can you hear me!" Robin called out as he gripped his fellow Titan by the exposed part of his shoulders; his voice was a little loud for my liking. Sure enough when I look back out to the room several more of the aliens have realized where we were.

I walked over and quickly tap on the Titan's shoulder.

"What?" He snapped, turning to face me, I did not need to explain as his gaze appeared to have already looked on what was going on behind me. "Damnit!"

He turned back to Beastboy.

"Beastboy, you gotta wake up now! Beastboy!"

The green Titan didn't budge or respond. He was out like a light.

"Damnit!" Robin cursed again; reaching down into his belt the Titan produced a small, gun-like object from one of the pouches. "I promised I wouldn't use this unless our lives were in danger…so you're going to have to forgive me…"

Robin muttered this to himself as he tore away a part of the green one's sleeve, a moment later pressing the 'gun' against the exposed flesh. I watched, fascinated, as the Titan pulled the trigger of the 'gun', as soon as he did the green Titan's chest suddenly expanded and green eyes flew open in shock.

The Titan jolted forwards, but was restrained by the chains of light. His body began twitching violently as he fought against his bindings, his breathing wild and erratic. Robin took a few steps back, letting his gun fall to the floor; I quickly followed his lead as the green Titan began to let out strange, guttural noises.

"I'm sorry Beastboy." Robin muttered, instantly catching the green Titan's attention as his head suddenly shot up to face him. His face was coated in sweat; his eyes open as wide as they can go.

"R-Robin?" the Titan spoke in a voice that sounded much different than when I heard him speak before, it was deeper…darker…more like a growl than an actual voice.

"I'll explain later." Robin answered, his own gaze never breaking from the other Titan's, "Right now…we need the Beast."

"N-no…Robin you can't-!"

The Titan cut himself off as he let out a terrible cry of pain. But…it was more of some animal howl than an actual cry, I felt myself backing off even further away as his body convulsed even more violently. I couldn't tear my eyes away as his body started to change. It wasn't that almost instantaneous change I saw him perform on top of the Titan's Tower; it was slow and painful looking.

His entire body seemed to expand outwards. His chest, arms and legs all grew in size and began to grow a thick coat of green hair. While I was transfixed by the entire scene my focus locked on the Titan's face, the boyish looks melted away, teeth formed into long fangs filling a widening mouth, the color in his eyes faded to complete whiteness and as the Titan roared in pain the animal fury became even more apparent. The chains of light began to tighten around the teen's ever growing body; it didn't look like it would hold if he got any bigger.

The sound of rushing wind suddenly broke through my transfixed concentration, quickly looked over to Robin to see one of the aliens had finally reached him, the Titan still distracted as he watched his friend's change. I reached out to them, unable to call out. I began to run, knowing full well that I would not make it in time. But before I could even take more than a few steps a sudden howl, louder than any previous, tore through the air and before I knew it a mass of green fur suddenly flew through the air—hitting the attacking Tamaran mid air and sending them both into the ground below the altar.

Robin spun around in surprise, both of us turning our attention to the green beast that was busy beating the unsuspecting alien into the ground mercilessly. The Titan slowly turned his gaze to me before his masked eyes grew wide.

"Look out!" He called, indicating something behind me. I turned, but it was only in time to see another Tamaran fixing to slam his fist into my face. Before he had the chance to however a large clawed hand then gripped him at the ankle, a second later he was pulled away from me before being slammed face first into the floor. The beast that gripped him only released his hold after making sure he threw him clear across the room.

Number 26 and the other Tamarans quickly took notice. The two guards were still relentlessly attacking Red-X and Jinx so it was easy for the Tamaran princess and her people to switch their attention to us. I looked over to see that the green beast hadn't moved since throwing the other alien, I immediately took a step backwards when I realized he was looking directly at me. The collar was still around his neck, I guess the thing had the ability to expand no matter what Beastboy turned into…so if Number 26 wanted to…

I kept my gaze on those two white eyes, afraid that if I even looked away he would be on me. But as he stared back I didn't get the sense that he was preparing to attack me. Call it some sort of intuition but the thing seemed to understand that I was an ally…or at least I wasn't worth its attention. With a growl it broke its gaze with me and turned its attention to the small group of advancing aliens. With another savage roar it kicked off from the ground and into the air where they flew.

"I know it looks bad but Beastboy is still on our side, in that form he should be able to buy us a little time." Robin spoke up behind me, his voice sounded angry. I turned to see him bending down beside Raven, a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Raven's cloak was missing from her body, I didn't realize how small and frail she looked without it, dressed in simple, black skin-tight clothing underneath. Her bangs were still effectively covering her face as her head remained downcast, even when Robin had made his presence known beside her. Was she unconscious to?

"Raven? Hey Raven…are you alright?" Robin whispered, gently shaking her shoulder. Raven didn't reply though her head did raise slightly, though not enough so I could see her eyes. Were they normal…or red?

"Robin…" Raven spoke so softly I wouldn't have heard it from my distance if it wasn't for my abnormal ears.

"Yeah it's me, are you okay Raven? Did they hurt you?" The Titan's leader pressed, hand still on her shoulder.

"Hurt…me…?" She replied, just as quietly. I remembered this Raven. Listening to her speaking so quietly, so helplessly, it was the same Raven I met in her head, the one that called itself Sadness.

I relaxed slightly and approached a little closer. As long as she wasn't Rage…

Raven appeared to hear my footsteps and her face turned to my direction. I could see her eyes then, big and purple with dark circles. There was redness in them…but not from demonic influence…more like she had been…

"Hello, Kyd Wykkyd, long time no see." Raven greeted, smiling slightly. I froze at that, dumb-founded that she could recognize me so quickly.

"Kyd Wykkyd…?" Robin questioned, instantly pulling my intention to him. His brows furrowed in thought before he turned his masked gaze back to me. I knew the unseen eyes were going over my unfamiliar face and down to the more than likely much more familiar remains of costume I still wore. Realization quickly spread over his face. "You…!"

"Robin…you need to leave." Raven continued, oblivious to the newfound attention between Robin and me. The Titan leader glared at me for several moments before turning his attention back to her.

"I plan on leaving as soon as I get you out of these chains." He replied, gripping the chains in question. Raven turned away from me to face her leader, shaking her head sadly.

"Do not waste any effort on me, Robin, you must take Beastboy if you can and leave. There is no hope left here, I…"

She fell silent then, her words catching both of our attentions as her gaze drifted to something beside us. Both our heads turned until we were staring at some object…it looked like a coffin, only it was made completely out of some kind of shiny black rock, like obsidian, and the coffin itself was at least five times larger than normal.

"What are you talking about!" Robin shot, tugging on the chains now as he turned his attention back to his fellow Titan, "I'm…not…leaving…without…everyone!"

"I killed Starfire's guardian." Raven spoke in that dead voice that reminded me of Fixit. Robin froze in his struggles, his mask wide with shock. I looked from Raven back to the coffin.

"You…what?" He breathed, but if Raven had planned on answering she was cut off with a terrible scream as red electricity suddenly burst from the collar around her neck. Robin cried out in more surprise than pain as he was forced to release his grip on the chains as the electricity burst outwards from her body.

"Raven!" Robin cried out in horror. We then heard another, more animalistic cry of pain, forcing both of our eyes on the green beast, hunched over on the ground as electricity assaulted his body. The electricity continued for several moments before finally stopping after Raven had stopped screaming. Her entire body sunk against her restraints, and it didn't look like she would be rising again, even the beast seemed to struggle to remain standing, the aliens moving in to surround him.

"I believe you have interfered enough, little bird." A voice rang out. The Titan and I turned to see Number 26 floating in the air above us, her finger just recently removed from some button on the device at her wrist.

"Blackfire!" Robin hissed, the hands at his sides gripping into fists.

I quickly glanced around at our surroundings. Red-X and Jinx seemed to have begun working together against their purple armored opponents but with the two guards working together now as well it still looked like a very tough struggle for them. The green beast was standing again but even he could see that he was outmatched by the ten or so remaining Tameranians that surrounded him now. So that left Number 26 alone with us.

"Let her go Blackfire!" The Titan demanded, reaching into his belt he pulled out a small cylindrical object, with a wave of his arm it extended to a very long staff looking weapon. Number 26 glared down at him, not a trace of an amused smile or fear on her face.

"I have grown tired of your arrogance." She spoke in a voice void of anything but disgust and hatred, her frown deepened as she raised both hands, one pointed at the Titan and the other at myself, "And I am tired of both of your defiance's. I will kill you both…"

Her eyes then suddenly flickered to the unmoving See-More on the ground across the room, her eyes then turned to me as I had looked over and back to her as well. A smile than grew on her face, though that killer intent was still in her eyes.

"…and then I shall squash the insect that challenged me and reclaim my destiny as Queen of Tamaran!"

I gritted my teeth, clenching one hand and allowing the claw to extend its fingers as it wished.

"Wait!" Robin called, "I'll handle Blackfire, you help Red-X and Jinx!"

I turned to him, making sure defiance was written all over my face. The Titan glared back at me.

"You can handle those guards better than I can, we need the others if we're going to free Raven and-!"

"ENOUGH!" Number 26 roared, hands glowing purple now. But before she could fire Robin reached into his belt and, pulling out some small metallic balls, threw them at her. Number 26 tried to raise her hands to blast them away but before they could even touch her, the balls exploded on their own, instantly blinding me as a bright light erupted from them. I quickly covered my face with my cape to shield my eyes.

"Go now!" Robin ordered from somewhere that I could no longer see.

I gritted my teeth again.

_Damn. _

With no time to think to form some kind of plan where I could attack 26 myself I pulled the cape around me. I reopened my eyes, barely catching the view of the infinite darkness before reappearing back on solid ground.

"Kyd?"

"Hey there Kyddo, welcome back to the party."

Jinx and Red-X greeted me almost as soon as I reappeared. I quickly looked around and realized that I was right in the middle of the four of them. Red-X and Jinx on one side, the two guards on the other. The one without the helmet glared at me, though his eyes glanced momentarily at my claw. I quickly remembered the guard who had pulled out the spear from his dead comrade and challenged me before being hit by See-More. Guess he doesn't forget grudges that quickly.

I turned to face the guards fully, clenched fist and claw at my sides. The guard with no helmet spoke something unintelligible to the helmed guard. The helmed guard looked down at my claw after he had finished speaking. I forced the claw to go behind my back, the motion causing the two guards to flinch instantly, spears held at the ready.

"Yo Kyd, you do something to spook those guys?" Red-X asked. I turned my head slightly to see him and Jinx looking down at my claw as well. Jinx was looking at it with a slightly agape mouth, clearly shocked. Red-X on the other hand merely folded his arms and chuckled.

"New appendage, right? Well if it's enough to scare those guys I can't say I'll complain about it, but remember, I'm allergic to demon, so no high-fives after we pummel these two, alright?"

I nodded slowly, forcing my gaze away from Jinx. The fire inside me was telling me I had to find a way to say a few choice things to my old leader, but that had to wait. I turned my attention fully on the two guards, the aliens tensing instantly.

"We'll follow your lead Kyd, right Pinky?"

There was a silence at that before a slightly aggravated voice replied:

"…don't call me tha-."

"That's a yes! After you!" Red-X assured, cutting Jinx off. I looked back one last time to see him giving me a thumbs up; I looked at Jinx for only a moment. Her pink eyes stared back at me, hesitantly, but just as I looked away I could swear I saw a small smile appear on her face. While I was still confused and angry with her for being here I couldn't ignore the fact that we'd be in a much tighter spot without her.

_Alright…_

I hunched slightly, pulling the hem of my cape out in front of me. The guards reacted instantly, pointing both tips of their spears in my direction.

_Round 2._

I pulled my cape around me just as I heard the footsteps of the two behind me begin their charge. I started running in the darkness appearing back into the world running at the backs of the two guards. They of course expected me to appear behind them but they were unable to turn due to the two teens that were barreling towards them from the front. With a fierce battle cry Jinx threw both arms out in front of her, pink waves of energy shooting outwards. With nowhere to go but up the two guards took to the air. I caught Red-X kicking off from the ground before pulling my cape over myself again, narrowly avoiding the pink energy that missed the guards.

I reappeared across from Red-X in the air. The two guards in between us. He attacking the one without the helmet's front while I went for the back of the one with the helmet. I did not have time to see what his plan of attack was as I focused on the back of the helmet. My claw attacked instinctively, faster than I could control it it reached out to grab the alien's helmet. As I had hoped the alien noticed me quickly, spinning around and holding out his spear to hit me with the back swing. The claw, having no choice, halted its advance on the alien's head and instead grabbed the spear by the pole, stopping it instantly from chopping me in half. While I still had the momentum I made to smash the guard into his unexposed face but what I didn't expect was the guard to suddenly drop his spear.

I fell instantly through the air. I looked up as I fell to see the guard pointing both hands towards me, I vaguely noted the missing presence of Red-X and the other guard before the purple energy began to rain down like bullets. I gripped my cape just as the claw released its hold on the spear, allowing me to pull us both back into the darkness.

I reappeared back on solid ground, facing the guard just as he caught his spear in one hand, his eyes glowing purple in the darkness of his helmet. I gripped my cape again in preparation to vanish once more only to have the guard suddenly fly through the air towards me. I didn't have enough time to react the way I wanted as the spear was suddenly thrust in my direction. I managed to pull the cape in between us like a shield with just enough room to be able to watch the spear tip make contact with the cape and then begin to sink into it like an open doorway.

While the maneuver saved me from dying there definitely wasn't enough cape space for the guard to fit through along with the spear. But just before that became a problem a pink blur suddenly came soaring from beside us, sending two well placed boots against the side of the guard's helmet. While the impact was solid and enough to release the grip the guard had on the spear (allowing it to harmlessly fall the rest of the way into my cape) the guard himself only flew back several feet away, the well-dented purple helmet still securely placed on his head.

"Well that could have gone better…" Jinx grumbled to herself, standing almost exactly where I saw the pink blur had sent that horizontal kick to the alien's head. It had been so long, I had almost forgotten how limber she was. Jinx caught me staring and our eyes immediately averted.

"Ah…that was uh…a close one there Kyd…"

I nodded. I looked at her again out of the corner of my eye; she seemed to be looking anywhere but at me, a strange shade of red on her face. Finally her bright pink eyes looked up at me again, that strange red color growing redder.

"You know, I've never seen you without your-."

She was cut off however when the helmed guard suddenly charged her, attempting to send a flying kick to her head. Although distracted Jinx managed to duck away from the kick and then twirl away from the subsequent kick that the guard attempted with his other foot as he spun mid-attack. The hex master performed those tell-tale back flips of hers to form some distance between them as the guard then began shooting out those energy bolts at her retreating form. Though before she even stopped flipping the guard was already on top of her again, having flown in her direction before allowing all his energy to make contact. Still on her hands Jinx was forced to push herself off into the air to avoid getting smashed by the guard's fist. She landed back down several feet away only to have the guard already on her again throwing punch after punch into her.

Despite my own eyes having trouble keeping up Jinx seemed capable of maneuvering her body away from the punches, though the close proximity was keeping her from distancing herself any further from the alien. I also couldn't help but notice how close to the wall the two were getting… in fact Jinx just hit the wall with her back.

_Damn it._

Wasting no more time I gripped my cape and pulled it around me, the cold darkness greeting me for its not even half a second before I reappeared back into the world, a solid kick sinking into my gut.

_Wait…what?_

I only had time to look up at the guard's glowing eyes before I was blown backwards, sliding for a ways on my back. I clenched my stomach in my good hand, a burning sensation threatening to spew up from my mouth. I tried to sit up, only making it to my elbows, but it was just in time to see Jinx jump on the unintentional distraction I gave her.

The guard turned from attacking me, fist already at the ready, only to have Jinx's hand calmly place itself at the face of his helmet. Jinx's eyes glew a menacing shade of pink just as pink energy sparked from her hands. An instant later the guard jerked away from her, his hands on his helmet as he seemed to struggle with it. Jinx immediately moved away from the wall as the guard turned away from her, allowing me to see that his helmed had unluckily crushed itself around his face and neck, keeping him both from seeing and from taking it off. Still, judging the strength of these Tameranian's I assumed it would only take him a matter of seconds to just rip the thing off but as I watched him seem to struggle with all his might to pull off the now offending piece of metal I could only assume that these guard's armor was especially tough.

"Hey Kyd, you alright?" A voice asked me. I looked up to see Jinx was now standing before me, hand extended in my direction.

I nodded in response to her question, the burning sensation still in my stomach though it wasn't threatening to spill out my mouth anymore, but I hesitated in accepting her hand. Jinx quickly took note of my hesitation as her hand threatened to fall back to her side. With a silent grunt of effort I released my good hand from my stomach and gripped her hand. She looked taken back for a moment but quickly composed herself before helping me stand back up. My good hand quickly released hers and went to back my stomach when I was back on my feet, the burning feeling returning with a passion from the sudden movement.

"You sure you're okay? That guy really got you with that kick didn't he?"

I only shrugged, forcing my hand to my side to not make it look like it was all that bad, Jinx seemed to study me for a second but when her eyes drifted to the claw I reflexively put it behind my back, Jinx looking away from me almost immediately.

"Well, anyways, I don't think he'll be a problem anymore." She commented as we both looked at the guard who was still having trouble with removing his helmet. He had resorted to trying to blast some of that energy against his own head, only to have the bolts bounce harmlessly off the helmet. "Weird, it's almost like that armor was made to defend against their own people. Why do you think they'd have something like that?"

Probably to take care of Starfire. I thought this as I remembered the orange Titan shouting at me and See-More about her own people attacking her when she got here. By the way she had looked then and how those guards didn't appear to have a scratch on them they seemed to have done the job pretty well.

I looked around for Starfire, suddenly curious about her condition but it appeared that her, and most of her people, had managed to escape through the door at the back of the room before the cave in from the ship buried it in rubble. I started to look around the room more. The green beast managed to break free from his captors encirclement a few moments ago but now it seemed all he could do was stay on the run as the small group of Tameran warriors flew after him. Looking back at the altar I could see Robin having his own personal duel with Number 26, it seemed he was more capable at close range fighting than See-More was though I knew one good punch from the alien would be all it would take to take him out, after all he was only human. Even from my distance I could see how tired he had become, how weak…

The claw twitched, breaking me from my trance. I quickly shook my head to clear the sudden desires. A hand on my shoulder immediately made me flinch away from the contact, though when I looked back all there was was Jinx, hand slowly returning to her side.

"Are you okay? …you look kinda pale…" She asked, though it sounded more like a whisper. Her pink eyes were wide and her lips were slightly parted. She looked so…scared.

Twitch.

My claw slowly rose itself until it hung in the air between us. Jinx's pink, pink eyes stared at it in silent amazement. I expected her to gasp, to back away, or even maybe attack me. But she just stared at it. No, not only stare at it. I watched as one of her hands rose as well until it was level with the claw. My eyes caught her pink ones, there was no fear in those eyes, all I could see was wonder…a question that needed no words to ask, not that I could give any words as an answer either way. Her eyes lowered again as if she had an answer, fixing themselves on the claw, her hand inching slowly towards it—fingers outstretched.

But instead of the twitch I had all but expected from that claw I felt something much more unexpected. A heavy heartbeat. A dull throbbing that started somewhere deep inside my chest. Had that beating thing always been there? And was it always this loud?

The throbbing of the thing in my chest filled my ears as her pale fingers suddenly were mere inches from the pointed tips of the claw's fingers. And just as she was about to touch it, instead of trying to strike, instead of attacking another poor unsuspecting victim, the claw instead flinched away from the contact less than a second before her fingers touched it. The breath caught in my throat as Jinx looked back up into my eyes.

We stood there for only a second, neither knowing what to say or do to the other. So many of those questions filled up inside my head in that simple second, so many things that I wanted to—needed to ask her, but knowing there was no way I ever could. And in that second Jinx seemed to be able to make some realization of her own. Her eyes grew wide again and even opened her mouth as if to say something, but whatever that something was was quickly interrupted by a sudden dark figure that almost fell into us as he stumbled backwards, trying to keep balance.

"Hey uh, I don't mean to interrupt this little intimate reunion you two got going here…" Red-X greeted after he managed to keep himself from falling down. Standing between us he pointed at something to my right. "…but I kind of got a situation I might need a little help with."

Jinx and I both looked over to where he was pointing to see the "situation" to be little more than the helmetless guard—fists clenched, eyes glowing, and flying towards us at a dangerous speed.

"Sorry for thinking the master thief would be able to handle himself; I'll remember not to make that mistake again." Jinx commented, holding her arms towards the guard in a defensive position while shooting Red-X a very mocking looking grin.

"Whoa there Pinky, this call for help is just for Kyd. Though next time I'm out of windows to break or ladders to walk under I'll be sure to give you a call." Red-X retorted, extending his own arms outwards as blades in the shape of red X's extended outward from his gloves, looking much like a pair of deadly claws. Jinx lost her grin as she glared heatedly at the master thief.

"I told you not to call me-!"

"Heads up Pinky!" Red-X shouted before sending an elbow into Jinx's stomach. I watched as a shocked expression come over her face as she hunched over and took a step back from the sudden blow. Though that surprise only increased when an armored fist threw itself into the empty air that Jinx had been standing in only a second ago. Red-X took a step back after elbowing Jinx to narrowly avoid the blow as well but already he moved back in to close the distance his own, now clawed, hand already held back behind him.

"Too slow!"

Red-X then sent his own punch into the guard's face, only to have the guard use his non-fisted hand to block the blow, gripping it between the top two pointed tips of the X shaped claw. I gripped my cape and quickly moved in; preparing to slice into the guy with the hem of the cloak, only to quickly realize that the guard had far from forgotten I was there.

Shooting me a particularly menacing looking glare the Tameran suddenly flung Red-X into me. The thief's body hit me directly in the side, the mere weight of him sending us both into the ground as the guard released his hold on Red-X's fist.

"Sorry about that, guess the guy was expecting another attack like that after I split his spear in half." Red-X grumbled as he quickly moved from on top of me, allowing us both to stand. I was forced to grip my stomach again as another flare of heat threatened to rise.

I quickly pushed the discomfort aside however when Red-X and I turned our attention back to the guard, hands and eyes glowing a fierce purple color. None of us had enough time to act further however when a sudden girlish battle cry resounded in the dungeon. All three of us looked over just in time to see Jinx unleash a rather large wave of pink energy—the energy soaring up into the still hanging pieces of rubble from the rooftop. An instant later large shards of stone began to fall as if there had been a second ship that crashed through. The guard attempted to fly away from the avalanche but it was simple too massive a scale…so massive in fact that I couldn't help but notice the rather large slabs of stone heading right for my head as well.

"Uh…Kyd…do that thing you do…" Red-X breathed, gripping my cape and tugging it lightly as he looked up into the collapsing ceiling as well. With a quick nod I gripped my cloak once again and pulled it around the thief and myself.

"Damn that's cold!" Red-X shouted as soon as we reappeared, instantly leaping away from me and making Jinx jump in fright.

"Don't shout like that!" She shouted, slapping Red-X on the arm when he got too close. The thief whining a little louder than he really needed to as he massaged the assaulted limb.

"Man…you really did a number on that guy." Red-X noted after he had calmed down, I looked to where he was mentioning to see a rather sizeable mountain of rubble that had taken the place of where the guard, Red-X, and I stood less than a second ago.

"Yeah…I guess I kind of got carried away…" Jinx mumbled, scratching her cheek and looking embarrassed.

"Getting carried away isn't a bad thing, turns out it's actually a pretty good thing. Kyd knows all about that, am I right?"

I shot him the worst glare I could conjure which seemed to do the trick as Red-X held his hands up defensively, laughing nervously.

"No offense meant of course!" He quickly assured. I granted him a silent sigh as Jinx looked on at us with an almost peaceful smile.

I quickly returned my attention to our surroundings, now that the guards were taken care of should we focus on helping out that green animal or Robi-?

It all happened too fast.

Jinx was hit from behind first. I could only watch as her emotions changed from surprise to pain in an instant before she was on the ground, armored foot on her back and armored hands holding her own arms up behind her. Despite the surprise attack Red-X and I immediately tried to head towards them, only to be stopped by Jinx's screams of pain as her arms were pulled. The guard that attacked her then turned his face to us; it was the one that had the helmet smashed around his face…though apparently he had morphed it enough to allow just enough room for one glowing purple eye to shine through.

"Let her go you bastar-!" Red-X demanded, only to be cut off when a hand reached out from behind us and gripped his shoulder. Red-X turned faster than I could, so when I finally looked over it was just in time to see another guard, one with long red hair, send his knee straight into Red-X's gut.

I watched as all the fight drained out of the thief at once as he slumped over from the blow. I tried to react; I tried to run at the sudden appearance of the guard I thought I had killed. But as soon as I even took a step in their direction the guard suddenly had one hand gripped around Red-X's throat before holding him up in the air. He then looked at me…and I froze completely.

Beneath the mess of red hair, beneath the mess of red blood, there was a face that was no longer a face. There were no features I could distinguish as a nose or even a mouth. But then…as I unwillingly looked closer, that was not entirely the truth. There was something that still stood out. One single glowing eye glared maliciously from the mess of everything. I was broken from my horrified stare as the guard squeezed on Red-X's throat, the defeated thief only managing a weak grunt in response to the pain.

I tried to get my feet to work, my hands, anything. I couldn't remain frozen here, I had to act, and I had to-.

The explosion of rock broke me from any concentration I had started to form. Even though I knew what was coming was inevitable I still found myself turning towards the noise. Turning to see the guard who had previously been buried in rubble—armor beaten and battered, face scratched and bruised, but still very much alive. I reached for my cape even though I knew it was futile. The force of a train struck me on the side of my head as the guard back handed me, and while I expected to find myself flying through the air—fate, and the alien, wouldn't have it that way.

I let out a silent gasp for air as I was suddenly pulled back from flying away. I tried to move even though my head was spinning like a top, but try as I might I couldn't. It was as if my cape had caught itself on something. That something then suddenly pulled my cape upwards and before I knew it I was pulled up as well. I looked up through blurry eyes to see the orange and purple colors of the guard as he flew ever higher, holding me in the air by my cape. He stopped somewhere near the roof. I tried to look down but then the world started spinning. So instead I opted to turn my focus to the young alien woman who had just begun laughing in triumph.

"Well this has certainly been enjoyable, to say the least." Her voice cheerfully echoed in the dark and dead dungeon. "But I believe it's finally time that we shut down this little assault on our home world."

There was a green and red blur hanging by his cape as she held him in the air, similar to what was happening to me.

_So in the end I didn't get to kill Robin after all._

I watched as she dropped the blur, the greens and reds all falling into a motionless heap on the ground.

I looked over to see that a previously large green blur had shrunk down to a much smaller one that now lay on the ground as well, a small gathering of orange blurs forming a circle around it's lifeless form.

_I couldn't make the Titans pay for what they did to my friend._

"And while there have been far too many interruptions leading to this moment it is time that I eliminate the challenge to my throne and begin this universe anew."

I watched as she landed on the ground as she spoke this and began walking. I turned my slowly clearing eyes to the pink blur that lay defeated on the ground, I couldn't tell if her arms were still attached to her sides or not.

_I couldn't get her back for betraying us._

I looked back to see that she had stopped beside a strange green and white blur I could not recognize. I turned my attention away from that to look at the mostly black blur, with a hint of red that was being held up into the air by its neck.

_I couldn't save any of my friends…_

_ I couldn't save…any of my friends…_

_ I couldn't…save…any…_

All at once the blurriness left my eyes. Every visual nerve in my brain went into overdrive as I turned my attention back to Number 26 who was now standing over See-More's still unmoving form.

_No…_

I tried to reach out and stop the guard from holding me. But he was too far up. I was too weak. I turned my eyes back to the two.

_No…no…_

"On this night I hereby claim myself, Komand'r, as Tamaran's new Queen!"

_No…See-More…_

I desperately twisted and turned my sore and unwilling body in order to free myself. I even tried shouting at the guard to release me. Of course I couldn't say anything. Of course I couldn't do anything.

"And on this night I declare galactic war on Earth and all of its allies!"

I felt that dull beating in my chest grow faster and press harder against me. It hurt for it to beat this way. It hurt so much I could feel something cold and wet begin to drip down from my eyes. I reached out a hand to catch it as it dripped down my cheek. But when I pulled back the hand all I saw was blood.

Blood drenching one long, clawed finger.

I looked back to see that she was beginning to bend down, beginning to reach out towards him. I reached out with my bloodied claw. I screamed as loud as I could inside my head.

_Why can't I do anything?_

_ Why can't I stop anyone?_

_ Why can't I protect anyone?_

_ Why-_

**XXXXXX**

His body felt as stiff as a rock. He tried to move it, move the fingers, the toes, the hands, feet, legs, anything, but nothing would budge. Only his eye would obey his commands, too bad it was cracked again. He tried to look around but all he could make out were the broken floor and walls, all melted together into one boring grey color. He could hear sounds of some sort of battle going on around him.

This time he tried to raise his head and while it did not budge it sent a searing pain that sunk deep into his brain, immediately forcing him to stop from trying again.

_ Man, I'm useless._

He wanted to say that out loud but he couldn't get his mouth to work either. The pain reminded him of that kick he took from Blackfire. That simple kick that ruined everything.

_Giving up already, See-More?_

It was a voice in his aching head. A familiar voice. And an oddly chastising voice coming from him.

_Yeah man, I suck. _He thought back in response, even trying to do that made his brain hurt, he let his broken vision settle back to focusing on nothing but the grey world he was forced to see.

_ I do not think you suck. You performed admirably. _

He let out an unsatisfied grunt, kicking up dust that had settled on the ground around his face.

_No way. We were supposed to beat her man but I screwed it up, I screwed it up bad and now everyone is gonna-._

_ Everyone is fine See-More. Because of you everyone will be fine._

Even though he couldn't he wanted to furrow his brow at these words. It wasn't like his companion to say lies to try and make him feel better. The obvious pity only made him feel worse.

_Because of your actions I had the time to contact Red-X. Because of your character Jinx has come to your assistance. And because of your hope Kyd Wykkyd is here to help you. Do not think that you are weak, See-More. You are by far the strongest person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. _

To say See-More was stunned was an understatement. Fixit's praise aside he was saying that Kyd Wykkyd, Red-X and…Jinx were here? They were here and they were fighting…

In a flash he remembered seeing Kyd…saving him from that guard…right before getting hit from behind by Blackfire.

But Red-X and Jinx were here to? Why? How?

A smile slowly appeared on See-More's face. His mouth seemed to finally let him do as he wished.

He didn't care why or how. They were here. After all this time all of his friends were together again.

_If you will permit me to say this See-More, it has been an honor to have worked with you and to have been a part of you. I am aware I have not been the kindest or most forgiving of individuals and I here now apologize for everything I have done because of those faults. Blackfire may have brought us together to serve her own needs and I may have accepted to serve for my own as well, but I would like to believe we remained together because of something more. I consider you my friend See-More and I hope, despite everything that has occurred between us, that you think of me in the same light._

Fixit's tone was monotone as always as he said this, but even in his head See-More could pick up something in those words, something that made his smile disappear completely.

_ Of course man! Of course we're friends but…why are you sayin' all this junk now?_

There was silence for a moment then, though See-More could faintly make out the sound of footsteps attempting to break that silence.

_Because I believe this is where we part, my friend._

At those words the footsteps suddenly stopped. See-More tried to call out to Fixit in his head, out-loud even, but everything fell silent as a strong hand suddenly gripped around his face. All words caught in his throat as the grip effortlessly raised his aching body into the air.

Faintly he could hear the sounds of shouting all around him, the sounds of the person gripping him shouting. But it was all muffled, white noise in his head. He felt himself losing consciousness gradually, all noise becoming quieter and quieter in his head. Until finally-.

_ Never lose hope, See-More._

And with those final words See-More's entire world faded into darkness.

**XXXXXX**

The dread dragon felt a sudden weight sink down into his deep dark heart. As if compelled by something he stared up into the bright blue sky that seemed close enough to touch from his relaxed position on top of the mountain.

He continued to stare up as if he was looking for something, but as the seconds past he quickly took notice of how quiet it had become.

"_**Did I say you could stop playing, worm?" **_Malchior breathed as he turned his scaly head to the young man who sat cross legged on a rock nearby.

The boy simply stared back at him with those bright green eyes, his fingers still hanging in the air having just moved themselves away from the strings of the lute he had been playing. The dread dragon breathed out an irritated puff of smoke as the silence continued, glaring down menacingly at the little human with his big red eyes.

"_**I shall devour you here and now if you do not cease your staring and continue the entertainment. Do not test my patience on this."**_

The boy threatened to continue staring for about half a second before suddenly flashing the dragon a bright smile and, shrugging, he brought his fingers back to the strings of the lute.

Malchior glared at the boy who now kept his eyes closed as he continued plucking the strings. With another smoky sigh the dragon brought his gaze back up to the sky.

The human really was a nuisance. He should have eaten him as soon as he arrived at this mountain days ago. He would have made a good snack to wash down all those cows.

But…

He didn't run when the dragon arrived. He didn't even flinch when he blew fire in his direction. He only extended his hand as if expecting a handshake from the great scaly beast, a big smile on his face.

That smile…

That same smile that one human had. Malchior could not remember the human's name but he did remember his smile. That genuine joy that he had only felt from his mate…all those years ago.

The dread dragon finally let his head fall as his mind compelled him to sleep. Soothed by the music and the thoughts of that smile Malchior allowed himself to rest.

**XXXXXX**

Time froze. No, no there was no time anymore. No time for saving, no time for caring, or loving, or wanting, or joy, or happiness, or pleasure, or warmth, or comfort. There was only time to watch as Number 26 crushed See-More's eye and face. Only time to watch a brilliant display of red sparks and electricity explode from the device under her grip. Only time to watch as my best friend fall back silently to the ground as she released her grip on the face that was no longer a face.

And then time truly stopped. Or maybe it was just me. I knew that beating in my chest stopped then. I knew that part of my brain stopped then. I knew every part of me stopped except the only part that mattered anymore.

A twitch.

That was all it took, a twitch and a calm, dark order placed inside the depths of my mind. I felt the cold wet blood drip down forever from my eyes.

_**Kill.**_

I screamed. I no longer cared if it would never be heard. I screamed into that dark corner of the world where only I could see. And I screamed until I knew that dark corner stretched out into every part of this world around us, until I knew _everyone _could hear me.

_It was so simple to rip that arm that attempted to keep me in the air. Of course he would never suspect I would have the sudden strength to use my lesser arm to use my cape as a rope to pull myself upwards. Of course he wouldn't suspect my greater arm to be able to tear through the metal and bone like it was nothing but thick air._

_ The guard screamed as he released me. It was certainly loud enough to catch the attention of those below us. They looked up to see me descend upon them like a great bat, though the rain of fresh blood behind me would have to greet them first. _

_ It was convenient to have the cape finally act on its own. To have it comfort me as it wrapped itself around my falling form. Its whispers of kindness were not lost upon my ears as I transported through the wonderful cold and dark. I reappeared back into the lesser world. Lesser world, greater purpose._

_ Purpose had a nice feel to it. It was warm and wet. And the blood it dripped appeared like an endless river. I removed my claw from the purpose as the alien fell back. Removing his grip on the young girl's arms so he could more closely examine the new hole I gave him in his chest. He looked back up at me and I would like to say I saw a glimmer of fear in that one eye before he fell over. _

_ I heard a mangled scream. I turned to see that the other one had dropped his prey and was attempting to flee. The one without the face. I had only just begun with him; I could not let it end like this. _

_ I followed him through that sweet cold and dark. I caught him in the horrible warm and bright. It was unfortunate he did not have enough mouth to scream as I dug my claws into his face. Though I did make sure to leave that one little eye of his alone. If only to see that final glimmer of fear before it finally faded away._

_ I stopped to admire the scene. Such a fresh redness would not last long; it needed more, just a little bit more._

_ I found the new supply trying to keep itself upright against the wall; it appeared to be having trouble balancing with only one arm. I appeared from my cold and dark to help make him even again. He almost screamed louder than before when the second arm came off. The blood was wonderful, covering the ground around us with that beautiful shade. Unfortunately my supply collapsed then. It appeared that shade of orange had grown very pale indeed. Such a waste._

_ But wait…there was one more…wasn't there?_

"Stay back!" Blackfire shouted at Kyd Wykkyd.

But he didn't stay back. He approached her with slow, yet playful steps. There was a peace on that face covered in blood. That face Blackfire had not seen in years. That face with a smile she had always wanted to see but now that it was finally there it only increased that deepening well of fear inside her.

"I'll kill them!" She cried, raising her arm with the device, a finger from her other arm threatening to press the only button on the mechanism. Her eyes darted frantically between Kyd Wykkyd and the two Titans that still had the collars around their neck. "I swear I will end their miserable lives right here if you advance any further!"

But Kyd Wykkyd did not stop in his advance. In fact his pace only seemed to quicken, though it was only slightly. He still approached her as if he had all the time in the world.

_How had it gotten so bad?_

The thought flashed through her mind suddenly. But Blackfire knew better than anyone that it was too late to go back. Even if she had wanted to.

"Very well, Kyd Wykkyd, their blood is on your hands now!" She shouted as she pressed firmly down on the button on her wrist.

Then…silence. No screams of pain, no electricity, no reaction whatsoever. Blackfire stared down dumbfounded at her device.

It was impossible…how could it break? There was no way…

The device suddenly began to glow a dull red color. It wasn't supposed to do that; there was no way it could have-

_It has been a pleasure working with you, Blackfire._

A voice spoke in her head. So familiar and so monotone. Blackfire couldn't help but close her eyes. All fear, all anger, all everything leaving her body.

And an instant later electricity exploded from the device. It covered Blackfire's body and she screamed in a pain worse than anything she had ever felt before.

Kyd Wykkyd reacted instantly. His casual walk suddenly burst into a sprint as he charged at Blackfire's convulsing body. An instant later he was on top of her. The electricity had vanished almost as soon as they made contact and fell back into the ground.

_I still remember…_

Blackfire looked up into Kyd Wykkyd's face. That serene smile was still there as he looked back down on her.

_I still remember the first time we met._

Number 36 had always been so nervous. He always looked uncomfortable and out of place. Blackfire remembered being drawn to him. Even though she had only joined the stupid cult of assassins for kicks somehow she sympathized with the little kid who looked so alone and lost in the world. But no matter how close they got, no matter how hard she tried, she never saw him smile. Not until 72 came into the picture.

Tears finally began to roll down Blackfire's face as she and Kyd Wykkyd continued to stare into one another's eyes.

Number 72 was even worse off than 36. He was so naturally untalented at stealth and fighting that it would have been a miracle if he had lasted longer than a week. Blackfire befriended him as a joke and a competition for herself, thinking it would be amusing to see how long she could keep him in the cult. But when she suddenly found herself becoming friends with 36, 72 suddenly became something more as well.

Without her even asking him to 36 began helping 72 train. His natural ability was even better than hers and in a matter of weeks 72 was easily five times as good as he used to be. It wasn't long before she learned that both of them had a thing for her. While she thought it was cute it was nothing she overly concerned herself with, not even bothering to let them know that she knew. But as time wore on this love rivalry between the two began to drive a wedge into their friendship. They even began declaring fights for her affection. But even though 36 won every fight he never tried to approach her afterwards about his feelings.

It wasn't until the last fight between the two that she finally understood. It was in the cafeteria, in front of everyone, even her. 36 declared this fight to be their last for her heart. She could remember looking away, heart acting weird, as he looked at her after saying this. She wrestled with what she would do or say when 36 won and finally confessed himself to her. And that's when she began to finally acknowledge that she did indeed have feelings for him.

That's why it was such a surprise when 36 lost. Though not lost, it was painfully obvious to at least her that he threw the fight intentionally, allowing 72 to beat him. She couldn't keep her eyes off of 36 as he stood back up from the ground and bowed his head in defeat to his opponent. She was forced to look away when 72 was suddenly before her, declaring his love for her and asking for her response.

She remembered looking around the room. At all the would be assassins and thieves, seeing confusion and apprehension in what was taking place. But her gaze finally rested on 36, he was looking at the two of them with a peaceful, serene smile on his face, it was the happiest she had ever seen him. And it pissed her off.

So she said yes to Number 72 even though she held no feelings for him. She lied and pretended to love him. She did all this to spite the boy who appeared happier that it was not him that had her affections.

And as she and 72 were destined to grow closer 36 only moved further and further away. In only a few short months they had become nothing more but passing acquaintances. There was no longer the lonely and shy boy she had first met and fell in love with but did not love her, there was only her and the other boy that she could not love but loved her.

She could not take the feelings that had built up inside her. She had joined the stupid cult for kicks, not to fall in love and have her heart broken. So she rejected it all, the love, the cult, and her old friends. She left it all behind and forced herself to move on. And it had worked. Leaving that warehouse was like shedding off a new life, she could start anew and never have to relive anything from that horrible past.

So why did she think she saw Number 72 in that night club when she attempted to replace her sister? Why did Kyd Wykkyd turn out to be none other than Number 36 hiding behind a mask? Why was this past so much harder to escape from than all the others she had left behind? She had known the answer almost immediately.

It was not a past she could leave behind because it was a past that had become a part of her. And right now, in this moment it was a past she realized that she had gotten all wrong.

That same smile was on Number 36's face as he knelt on top of her. That smile she saw when he trained 72, that smile he had when 72 finally confessed his love to her. That smile was now just for her.

It was a smile of love. The way he had loved 72. A love that made him sacrifice his time and body to help train. A love that sacrificed his mind and feelings to stand aside and let his friend be with the girl he loves. It was that smile that now became all Blackfire could see.

Eyes still full of tears Blackfire reached up with a shaky hand and gently stroke it over the side of Kyd Wykkyd's face. His smile appeared to widen slightly at her touch. A smile finally found its way on the Tameranian princess's crying face as the grip around her heart began to tighten.

_If I could have one wish…_

Blackfire felt the air leave her lungs and heart stop at the same time.

_I would wish that this moment would last for just one more second._

The claw inside her chest clenched completely around her heart, the small muscle beating its last as it burst inside her. The smile never left her face as the life in her eyes slowly faded away.

**XXXXXX**

I slowly pulled the claw from her chest. It was such a bright red. I watched as the blood drip down on her body, drops dropping on that face so peaceful and happy.

That was the face of the Number 26 I knew.

I couldn't stop the bile that came up this time. I stumbled a few feet away and threw up whatever contents I had left in my stomach. It wasn't much, I couldn't remember the last time I had eaten anything, and I felt empty inside when it was over.

I didn't want to look around even though I knew I had to. I just stared at the ground covered in blood for what seemed like an eternity. I didn't move until I heard footsteps behind me but when I turned my head I saw someone I did not expect.

Raven stood there. Small body without the cape. Dark sunken eyes without the hood. She looked more like a lost little girl than a half-demon who could kill me on the spot. I slowly turned my body, doing my best to keep my eyes on the ground so I couldn't see the horrible things that lay around us.

"Please look at me." Her soft voice whispered. My ragged breathing caught in my throat somewhat as I hesitated to look up from the ground. When I finally did Raven was looking straight at me and while there was no softness in her eyes or smile on her face I didn't feel threatened from her stare.

"I remember everything from when you entered my head, you know." She spoke in her monotone voice, though I may have caught a hint of scolding. I fought the urge to hang my head in embarrassment. I should have guessed the true Raven would be aware of what happened in her head, even if she had been unconscious for most of it.

"Do you remember the promise you made me? The one I asked right before you left?"

Of course I remembered. She didn't want me to hurt her friends. I had lied to her at the time because I could not tell Happiness that I wanted to kill Robin that I wanted to make the Titans pay for what happened to my friend. I couldn't tell the truth to that forever smiling face.

My heart seemed to leap in my throat when the Raven before me suddenly smiled just as I thought this. That same smile that Happiness had right before I left.

"I want to thank you Kyd Wykkyd. I know how you felt about my friends but instead of attacking them you decided to help them. And while I also know it probably wasn't because you wanted to keep your promise I still have to thank you for…"

Raven's eyes dropped for a second before looking over to the altar and the shining black tomb that rested on top of it.

"I want to thank you for being stronger than I could be."

She then turned around and stepped beside a floating black disk that both Robin and Beastboy were resting upon. I had to guess without looking around that she handled the ones that had the green Titan prisoner…unless I had scared them off before hand. I shuddered at the thought.

"We are leaving now." Raven announced as she stepped up on the black platform, breaking me from my train of thought. I looked back at her to see that she was looking down at me, that small smile still on her face. "There should be ships just outside the castle gates. I suggest you find your friends and escape while you can as well."

I nodded without really thinking about it. A low grunt of pain brought our eyes to Robin. Still lying down he reached up with one frayed glove, gripping Raven's ankle.

"Raven…we can't…Starfire…"

Raven's smile vanished completely at that as she looked down at her leader.

"There's nothing we can do for Starfire." Her voice cracked as she said this and she forced her face away from looking at Robin, the bangs now effectively hiding her eyes. "I'm so sorry Robin."

The Titan's leader only looked back at Raven. His pained face hard to pinpoint just what feeling he was trying to express. Whatever it was quickly vanished as Robin's hand and head fell back against the black disk, obviously unconscious.

Raven remained where she stood, head bowed, for several more seconds before finally letting out a deep sigh and turned towards me. I held in a silent gasp when I saw tears rolling down from those deep purple eyes.

"Goodbye Kyd Wykkyd." She breathed.

And with that the three of them sunk down into the black disk like quicksand. All of them disappearing from sight right before the disk seemed to collapse in on itself, vanishing as well.

And just like that they were gone.

I kept my gaze on the ground as I turned to look back at Blackfire. Red-X was hunched over her now, appearing to fiddle with something at her wrist. I didn't want to try and find Jinx in case my eyes saw something I would very much regret seeing along the way. So instead I looked in the direction for my last remaining friend.

He was very easy to find, not having had moved much in the last half hour or so. I kept my gaze on the ground as I walked over to him. The blood was everywhere but I guess I could say it was lucky that I hadn't run into any bodies yet.

My mind froze when my gaze found a hand only to quickly realize that it was the hand belonging to my friend. Though it did little to settle down my insides.

We were so close now. Everything looked so much worse from this distance. His body was beaten and bruised; his arm looked like it might have broken judging by the odd angle it had created. But his face. God his face.

A disgusting black smear completely covered the top part of his face, right above the nose. If there had been any eyes they were there no longer. I collapsed to my knees just as the weakness hit my entire body. I reached out with my good hand and placed it on his chest. Was it me or could I not feel that beating in his chest? Was it just me or was his chest not moving at all?

The tears returned before I could stop them. Those damn tears that smelt, tasted, and looked like blood. What was the point in them? They couldn't save him. They couldn't make me strong enough to do anything.

That only made the blood come out stronger. I silently gagged on silent sobs that shook me. I thought I was going to suffocate. My lungs wouldn't work right, my throat tightened, that thing in my chest wouldn't stop beating. I rested my forehead against his unmoving chest as I kept crying.

I didn't know what else to do. I didn't know. I…

"Kyd?"

It was such a hesitant voice, such a quiet one. I was almost sure it was some trick of the wind. But there was no wind in this dark room. There was just me, him, and…

I looked up from his chest to see Jinx standing there, hands firmly grasping each other at her chest. Her pink eyes wet with heavy tears as she looked down on See-More. I looked up at her, our eyes met and I was forced to look away again.

Look away and look down on that face of my friend. The only friend I had left. I looked down into that blackened face and the useless tears just continued, his bare chest now dripping with the blood of my crying. A heavy sound of Jinx collapsing across from me resounded softly in the chamber. I didn't need to look up to know that she was kneeling much the same way I was beside See-More. As I continued to look down at my friend I watched as a small, pale hand reached its way out and place itself on my own hand as it still rested on See-More's body.

I looked up then to see her looking straight at me as we knelt beside him. Those bright pink eyes were even brighter when wet.

We didn't say anything as we knelt there. Even if I could speak and even if she had anything to say there was nothing that could be said.

I knew she was sorry. And I knew she knew I forgave her.

"Oh See-More…" She suddenly breathed and all at once she knelt over and buried her head into his chest, sobbing louder and fiercer than I had ever heard anyone cry before.

I could only look down at her. My hand in the air from when she collapsed into him. It hung there doing nothing as she continued to sob heavily. I wasn't sure what I should do with it. But I knew what I wanted to do with it.

With careful precision I placed it on top of Jinx's bright pink head as she cried. It was the only thing I wanted to do at this moment.

We knelt there for forever. I kept my hand on her head until her crying had subsided slightly. When she finally looked up her face was stained with tears and blood.

"What…what should we do?" She asked me in that quiet voice, her eyes still on See-More.

I didn't know. I couldn't know. Was there even a point in doing anything any longer?

"We can still free all those guys that are still frozen in that warehouse." A voice spoke up. Jinx and I turned our heads to see Red-X standing there watching us, something clenched in one of his hands. He turned his masked head to look at me. "That was your initial plan right?"

Jinx looked from Red-X to me, eyes still dripping and mouth slightly open. I kept my own gaze on Red-X, nodding ever so slightly.

Of course that's what I wanted. But everything was gone now. I had failed in doing anything I wanted to do. There was no point if there wasn't even hope.

"Now what's with the long face?" Red-X teased as he walked over to us. Before I knew it he was kneeling in front of me, holding out something held between two fingers. I looked but all I could see was what looked like a simple, glowing red computer chip. "This thing holds the blueprints for building that heat ray that Blackfire's little droid used to free you. Our little princess was kind enough to keep it on her person while Fixit is still handy enough to show me where to look."

I felt my own eyes widen at that. Red-X seemed to nod as if he read my mind just then, standing up and moving around until he knelt again right beside Jinx, looking down at the unmoving figure.

"Yup that guy is a real fighter. And as he tells me…he isn't the only one…"

Red-X said this as he reached for his belt, the same belt that held all of the vials of Zinothium. With one hand he pulled out a vial while the other that held the computer chip reached down behind his back, quickly returning not with the chip but with an empty needle.

"I didn't really get the chance to sanitize this thing, but I promise I'm clean." Red-X spoke as he carefully placed the vial of bright red liquid into the needle as though he had done this hundreds of times before.

Jinx and I only watched as Red-X, full needle now in his hand, moved our own hands away from See-More's body. He carefully placed one hand on See-More's chest, as if judging where to stab the needle that his other hand was holding in the air.

"Wait what are you doing!" Jinx suddenly declared, her hands moving up as if to stop him.

"Bringing our little buddy back to life." Red-X replied in an uncharacteristically serious voice. My body froze at those words. Jinx's seemed to as well as her arms stopped their attempts at subduing him.

"And…you've done this before?" Jinx asked hesitantly as she looked from Red-X back down to See-More.

"Nope." Red-X replied before shoving the needle down into See-More's chest and pressing the contents down into his blood stream all in the span of a second.

Jinx did not have the time to stop him but she did cry out in surprise. I only flinched at the violent action, but my eyes remained on See-More's face. I expected a sudden reaction like when Robin injected his teammate, but See-More remained still and unmoving, even after Red-X carefully removed the needle from his chest.

"Why would you do that!" Jinx shouted then, slamming her fists against Red-X's arm. The thief didn't look at her, his mask focused intently on See-More. Jinx continued to smack him as her tears started to return. "He's dead! Why would you do something like that to him? He's dead so why-!"

"Pinky, would you shut-up for a second and look down." Red-X spoke. Jinx stopped hitting him then, his tone still dead serious.

We both looked down at See-More at once. He still did not move. I was about to look back up in defeat, I knew Jinx was about to go back to hitting and screaming at him. But we both stopped when something unexpected happen. See-More's chest filled with air.

We watched in silent awe as his little chest began to slowly rise and fall. I didn't know what to think. But I had to know for sure.

I reached out with a careful hand and placed it on his moving chest. Almost as soon as I did I felt that familiar feeling. The steady beating of something deep inside his moving and breathing chest. While the blood threatened to spill from my eyes again I had enough control to hold them back this time, though I did not removed my hand from his chest.

"See-More…" Jinx breathed. I glanced up to see that she had much less control, eyes already dripping wet again as she stared down at him.

"He won't be waking up for awhile and he's going to need daily shot like this to stick around. But for now he's gonna be alright." Red-X answered as he slipped the injection needle back behind his cape.

He then gently pushed Jinx aside so he could kneel where she was, Jinx standing while looking quite confused. With a smooth motion Red-X slipped both hands under See-More's body before suddenly lifting him up bridal style. I stood up quickly at the sudden motion, Jinx letting out a gasp.

"Wait! Are you sure it's a good idea to be moving him!" She shot as we both moved to stand beside Red-X and See-More. Thankfully the little thief just appeared to have fallen asleep in his arms, though the lack of eyes didn't really help in settling my worries.

"Probably not but we don't exactly have time to wait around anymore." Red-X did a scan around the room, something that I still refused to do. "Blackfire and those guards of hers might be dead but we still got a second pissed princess and an army of alien to deal with if we don't get out of here soon."

"You mean Starfire? She didn't leave with Robin and the others?" Jinx asked, looking around as well though I could tell she was actively trying not to look at any of the bodies.

"Doesn't look like it. I think they may have had a falling out of sorts."

Jinx let out a sigh as she ran a hand through her pink hair.

"Great, the one time it would be inconvenient to me if they split up and they decide to split up."

"Well, you aren't the Bossy Bitch of Bad Luck for nothing, right?"

"…what did you just call me?"

"Er, that sounded a lot better in my head…"

The dungeon then started to shake. Like an earthquake had suddenly struck from underneath us we all suddenly had to fight to keep our balance. All around more loose bits of stone began collapsing from the roof.

"Is this place caving in!" Jinx shouted over the noise of the rumbling.

"Looks like it," Red-X spoke as he struggled to keep both him and See-More from falling as he looked around the room, "And it looks like our only exit is blocked off from when you decided to crash the party with that ship. I might be able to get us outta here but we need some way off this planet, either of yall know where a ship or something might be?"

Jinx shook her head, looking very much defeated, but when Red-X looked to me I couldn't help but feel a margin of pride as I nodded, Jinx and Red-X both looking immediately interested.

"You do?" They both asked in unison. I nodded again, remembering what Raven told me. We just had to get to the front gates, and after spending all those hours combing the entire palace with See-More I could easily pinpoint right where they would be.

"Alright I'll get us out of here then we'll follow you!" Red-X now shouted as more and more debris continued to rain down around us, echoing loudly throughout the dungeon. He then held out See-More's unconscious body to me. "Think you can carry him for a second?"

I immediately nodded, ignoring the excited twitch of my bad hand. Claw or no claw I was going to make sure that we got out of this. I extended both my arms and while Red-X hesitated upon seeing the black claw he then quickly but carefully placed See-More in my arms. I felt the fingers twitch as they securely gripped his shoulder but I immediately forced my will upon them to be gentle. Jinx looked on worriedly for a moment but when I safely had him in my arms a look of relief quickly washed away her face.

"Alright time to go!" Red-X shouted just as a rather large hunk of ceiling came crashing down near us. The master thief took off then, running through the newly kicked up dust. Jinx motioned for me to go on first, quickly brining up the rear as I ran.

My head was now throbbing worse than ever now that the emotional stress had passed for the most part, but I kept my focus on the two black feet that ran ahead of me. Trying to ignore the carnage, the collapsing ceiling and walls, and the entire world around me. Just focusing on putting one foot down after another and keeping my best friend secure and safe in my arms.

"We're almost there!" Red-X shouted as the world seemed to collapse around us.

I looked back to see Jinx following closely behind, her eyes looked back at me for a brief second before focusing ahead of both of us. When I followed her gaze I could see that Red-X was leading us to the rather large pile of rubble that had completely sealed us from the exit door.

"Just keep running no matter what happens next!" Red-X continued to shout; his hand was raised and pulled back behind him as he continued to lead us to the rubble. I immediately noted the faint red glow that began somewhere on his palm, growing brighter by the second. "We're gonna run up the stairs and then it's on you Kyd!"

Red-X looked back at us then, and I swear if I that mask wasn't there then I could almost say for certain that he was smiling.

"I'd just like to say Number 36; it's been a real honor working with you."

That voice. It was a different voice than what I was used to hearing from that mask. But at the same time it was also so…familiar.

But before I could even think of what to do Red-X had already turned back, the rubble now less than a few seconds away from us. With a great cry of triumph the master thief threw his palm against one of the stones in the pile and for a brief a large X extended itself across the entirety of the pile of rubble. But everything disappeared in a bright red flash of light.

**XXXXXX**

_**To Be Continued…**_

**XXXXXX**

** Well my dear readers and reviewers this was the last chapter before the epilogue. While the story itself has turned out far different than I had first envisioned I still hope that everyone that has read it has found at least some enjoyment, for I know I certainly enjoyed writing it. And made sure to stick around for the epilogue, I promise it will not take long. Cheers. **


	26. Zeal

**The Wicked One**

**Chapter 26: Zeal **

**XXXXXX**

Cyborg always hated hospitals. Even before his accident just being around all that bright whiteness, the smell of disinfectant, the detached doctors. It always made him feel uneasy. But he sucked it up as he sat outside a particular room, hands crossed and eyes closed. Even if he tolerated it—it didn't mean he had to like it.

"Hey Cyborg!" A loud voice suddenly rang in his ears, causing him to jump up in his seat. Looking around he quickly spotted Bumblebee, hands on her hips and giving him an amused smirk, "Bout time, that's like the third time I called out to you, you forget to recharge today or somethin' Sparky?"

"Nah, just lost in thought." Cyborg answered after he had recovered from the surprise. The downcast way in which he spoke caused Bumblebee to glance over at the door he had been sitting in front of. "It looks like your back up to speed though."

She looked back to the metal teen to see he was trying to force a smile at her. Bumblebee quickly collected herself before beaming back.

"Yup! Back and stronger than ever!" She declared, flexing a bicep for emphasis. "You can test me on it if you want."

"I think I'll just take your word for it." Cyborg replied, waving her off as he sat back down in his chair.

Bumblebee remained standing as the two fell into silence for a few moments. Cyborg's eyes now seemed glued on the door as he leaned forward in his seat. The only time she had seen him that deadly serious was during their dealings with Brother Blood. Without saying a word Bumblebee walked over and leaned against the wall space beside Cyborg and his chair.

"How are they doing?" She asked as she looked at the door as well. The window was far too small to make out any great details.

"Raven says it'll take them awhile to recover, even with her healing." He responded in that dead voice he recently developed. "If we still had the tower I could have them better in less than a week."

He said this with a hint of anger as his large metal hands clenched into fists. Bumblebee wanted to try and comfort him in some way but she knew enough about this particular teen that it would more than likely only make the matters worse.

"How's the construction coming along?" She asked, opting instead to change the subject.

Cyborg didn't answer right away. First he had to take in a deep breath before releasing it out in a very drawn out sigh.

"I just came back from overseeing everything. I made sure they knew what they're doing but…I really should head back soon if I want it to be standing for longer than a few days. I was thinking there might have been something I can do here but Rae is watching over them, I don't think she's left the room since they got back…"

Cyborg stood up again but didn't seem inclined to move any further, his eyes still on the door, his hands still clenched into fists. Bumblebee looked at him, biting her lip, unsure if she should ask the question that was now on her mind. Before she could have the chance to, however, Cyborg suddenly let out a cry of fury, sending his fist into the wall behind him.

Bumblebee jumped at the action. Slowly the metal teen removed his fist from the wall, the impact leaving a very large hole in the plaster. She could only watch as he then buried his face in one hand, the other fist shaking terribly at his side.

"I couldn't do anything." He said heatedly in his hand. Bumblebee wasn't entirely sure if he was still talking to her. "They went out there alone. They could have died. And Starfire…and I couldn't…"

"Cyborg…" Bumblebee breathed, slowly walking over to him, slowly reaching out a hand towards him.

Before she could however the Titan suddenly dropped his hand and turned away from her.

"I'm going to go see about this hole in the wall." He spoke in a dead voice.

And with that he began walking away from her. She watched his back silently, her hand still out in open air, and couldn't help but notice the shaking fists still at his sides.

**XXXXXX**

Jinx walked silently through the expansive, wooden hallways. Her eyes momentarily glancing at the paintings on the walls, the colorful flowers that were placed inside elaborate looking vases that rested on little tables, even the designs of the brown carpet she walked on caught her attention. All the while she made sure the shiny, silver pitcher of water and towel that she carried on a tray remained steady in her hands.

This really was a beautiful place. This summer home that Red-X let them use. Well, it seemed more like a summer mansion to her. She couldn't say she was completely convinced that this belonged to him, master thief or not this definitely didn't seem like the kind of place someone with his tastes would spend money on. Granted she has only known him for about a week now but still.

As she continued to gaze around her eyes caught a mirror as she drew near to the room she was after. There she saw a fairly cute girl with pink hair that fell loosely around her face, dressed in a simple black blouse with purple ribbons. Jinx couldn't help but giggle at the sight as she passed the mirror. She couldn't remember the last time she wore anything casual like this…not since…

Her dates with Wally.

The pitcher of water suddenly threatened to spill off the tray and Jinx quickly moved to steady it by holding the tray with one hand and using the other to grab the container. She let out a sigh of relief when everything remained steady before proceeding back down the hall. The room she was looking for was now in her sight, the door was cracked slightly open so she could tell which one it was out of the numerous others that lined the hallway. With that in sight she quickly waved away any distracting thoughts.

The past was the past. She had gotten over it before. She could do it again.

Despite how unconvincing that sounded in her head she stuck with her plan and pushed those kinds of thoughts aside as she reached the door. Despite knowing it was futile Jinx carefully balanced the tray with one hand while using the other to gently knock on the door.

"See-More…are you awake?" She called, waiting for a few moments for the no response that she was expecting. Silence answered her call and with a little sigh of defeat she used the free hand to push the door open further.

It was a beautiful looking bedroom, like all the others that were here. With old looking, dark oak furniture, deep red carpeting, and fancy looking paintings that lined the walls. But what Jinx liked most about this room was the large bay window that filled up almost the entire back wall. The window looked out to the football field sized backyard that stretched out into a lake, it was all surrounded, just the mansion itself, by miles and miles of trees. The beauty of it all was only enhanced by the setting of the sun.

Who knew a place like this even existed so close to Jump City. Jinx had thought when she first saw what was behind this summer home. Granted it was at the city limits…but still…

Her eyes unwillingly looked from the window to see the bed that lay right beside the window, and the small teen who rested in it. See-More slept peacefully, his small body looking even smaller in the large bed.

The top part of his head, from the top of the nose, was covered in bandages. It was her first time replacing the bandages this morning and she had almost broken down into tears seeing what was underneath them. She forced her eyes away from his face momentarily to look down at the rest of his body that was currently being hidden behind a thin white sheet.

His arm and a few ribs had been broken; the majority of his body had been riddled with bumps and bruises, though thankfully most of those had settled down by now.

_But still… _

Jinx looked back to his face as she began to approach his bedside.

_How could someone so hurt still be able to look so peaceful?_

She placed the tray on the nightstand that rested beside the bed. It was quite large and allowed for both the tray, and the bowl that had already been there, to be placed down. With more care than was probably needed Jinx slowly poured water from the pitcher into the bowl. After it had been fairly filled she placed the towel inside the bowl, letting it absorb the water before squeezing it mostly back out so that the towel was simply slightly damp.

_This was also something she was doing for the first time. _

Moist towel in one hand Jinx slowly used the other to pull down the sheet from See-More's body.

_Usually Kyd Wykkyd would be doing this._

She let the blanket fall at his waist. She knew she would have to get there eventually, but for her sanity's sake she would take this one step at a time. His chest lay bare before her now, upper body completely stripped of clothing, revealing to her the casted arm, the slightly burnt chest, and various scratches and still slightly faded bruises. She let out a steadying breath as she returned to his face, reaching out with the cloth.

_One step at a time._

She gently placed the towel against his face. But as she did Jinx swore she suddenly saw See-More's mouth twitch. Letting out an inward gasp she quickly pulled the towel back, but as she looked again the mouth was no longer moving. Jinx shook her head then, trying again to settle herself.

_It's just nerves making you see things_. She told herself as she moved the towel around the rest of his face taking extra care to avoid messing with the bandages. With that done she placed the towel back in the bowl and squeezed excess water out again.

_Okay…step two._

Very slowly Jinx placed the towel on top of See-More's chest. It was at that moment See-More let out a small, surprised gasp. A not so small gasp escaped Jinx as she suddenly yelped in surprise, falling backwards on her butt. She remained where she fell, looking up at the bed as a weak chuckle began to rise from it. She watched in shock as a brown hand carefully removed the damp cloth she had left on his chest and dropped it back on the bed.

"Man… that was really…cold." A voice spoke out-loud, causing Jinx to gasp again.

"S-See-More?" She asked out loud, too afraid to stand back up.

"Yup!" He replied, his enthusiasm seemed to be fighting against his natural weakness. "I was gonna see…how far you'd go but…it's really cold…"

"How far I'd…?" Jinx trailed off as she thought. And as she thought a warm blush suddenly sprung up to her face. "You ass!"

Surprise momentarily gone in place of fury Jinx stood up in a flash, arm raised in preparation to slap the crap out of the little pervert, but she froze as soon as her eyes fell on him.

He was looking at her. Of course not _really _looking but his head was turned in her direction and there was a very big, very obvious smile on his face.

"Hey man…you wouldn't hit a guy with bandages…would you?" He teased playfully. Jinx's arm immediately fell as she suddenly collapsed besides him. Knees on the ground and head buried in the empty bed space beside See-More she began crying furiously.

"Whoa, Jinx! What's going on! What happened!" See-More quickly spoke up, trying to rise but letting out a groan of pain when his body adamantly refused. Jinx's head quickly shot up at the noise.

"No, please, don't get up." Jinx spoke, placing one hand gently on his shoulder to keep him down while the other wiped the still dripping tears from her eyes. "I'm fine, really."

"But…" See-More protested but allowing himself to fall back down on the bed. "You're cryin'…did somethin' happen?"

"Yes somethin' happened you idiot!" Jinx replied, letting out a half laugh half sob as she continued to try and control her tears. "You almost died and we've been worried sick for days!"

"I…almost…died…?" See-more said slowly, letting it all sink in. With his unbroken hand he reached over and placed it on the hand that was still on his other shoulder. Jinx quickly stopped any other action as their eyes almost seemed to lock. "Sorry…for makin' you…worry."

"Don't apologize, idiot!" Jinx scolded, taking her hand back and using both to wipe over her face, the tears finally passing. "I'm just happy that you're okay."

See-More still appeared unsatisfied as he let his arm rest back at his side, still looking in her direction with a frown on his face.

"What happened?" He asked after they had sat in silence for about a minute. Jinx looked back at him for a moment, at first not entirely sure what to say.

"Well…it's kind of a long story." She said finally, "And I'm not even sure about everything that's happened…that might be something you should ask one of the others."

"Others…" See-More repeated slowly, his head then jerked up and he suddenly tried to sit up again, letting out a groan of pain when his body once again refused.

"See-More!" Jinx gasped, quickly moving to help him but stopping when he held out a hand before he allowed his body to fall again. Jinx remained where she stood, watching him intensely.

"Fixit…Red-X…Kyd…what happened to…are they…alright?" He asked through ragged breaths.

"Please See-More…I think you should get some more rest…" Jinx pressed, "We can talk about all this when you're feeling better-."

"No man…please…" See-More interrupted, trying desperately to control his breathing, "I gotta know…please…"

Jinx stared at him for a moment, biting her lower lip, as See-More rested his head back against the large pillow, his small chest rising and falling slowly as he began to regain his breathing. With a final sigh Jinx walked back over to the bed and sat down at the edge, keeping her eyes on his bandaged face.

"If I tell you, do you promise not to freak out anymore and try to sit up again?"

"Yeah man, totally!" He quickly assured, flashing a smile in Jinx's general direction. She smiled back, despite knowing that See-More wouldn't see it.

"Okay so Fixit…he's the one with the robot voice right?"

"Yeah."

"Well Red-X found some computer chip thing on Blackfire after we…defeated her-."

"Whoa, you guys beat Blackfire!" See-More suddenly cut in.

"Of course we did! How else do you think we were able to bring you back home with us?"

"Home…" See-More spoke the word out slowly, letting it sink in the air around them, "So…we're…back on Earth?"

"Oh man." Jinx grumbled playfully, rubbing a hand through her hair, before flashing See-More an unseen smile, "You really have a lot of catching up to do."

Despite not seeing her smile See-More grinned back at her, chuckling softly. She was sure he'd laugh harder if not for his body that held back his chuckling with weak groans of pain.

"Maybe we should do like…one step at a time…or something…my head really hurts…" See-More mumbled, he lifted his hand as if he was going to rub his head but stopped himself, "I kinda want to ask why I can't see anythin' but…then again I kinda don't…"

"I'll tell you whatever you want to hear." Jinx assured, placing a gentle hand on See-More's shoulder. The smile on his face was all but gone. She couldn't explain how misplaced his face looked without a smile.

See-More sucked in a deep breath through his nose before blowing it all out in a very drawn out manner through his mouth. She could only imagine how many thoughts were going through his head right now. How many questions. However she was surprised when See-More almost seemed to look directly at her, small smile back on his face, and said:

"So, you were sayin' about Fixit?"

"Oh…" Jinx spoke, suddenly finding herself struggling with the right words to say as she pulled her hand away from his shoulder to rest at her side, "Well after your eye…got damaged…we thought he was…gone for good or something. But Red-X found this computer chip that Blackfire had…when we uploaded it on a computer it had blueprints and other technical stuff but it also had…Fixit."

"It…had him?" See-More questioned.

"Yeah, the keyboard and screen began to glow red after we put in the computer chip and some word document pulled itself up and he began…typing to us and we could hear him talking through the speakers as the words appeared on the screen. It was pretty creepy at first."

See-More seemed to visibly relax at her words, his smile spreading wider on his face.

"So he's okay…" See-More breathed out.

"Yeah. He said the chip was like a back-up file of himself. Apparently he's got a bunch of them stashed away but Blackfire had his most current one…" Jinx hesitated to go further; the relaxed look See-More had only made her want to stop more.

"Jinx? Somethin' wrong?" See-More asked, quickly picking up on her silence.

"Well…he told us the memories he has now stopped whenever his original body was destroyed, he said he doesn't remember the time he spent inside your eye device…"

Jinx wasn't sure why she felt so uncomfortable saying this. She didn't know the relationship See-More had with Fixit, or any of the others for that matter. But she did know See-More. She knew he wouldn't be stuck in a group with people and not at least try to be their friend, no matter whom or what it was. Her fears were confirmed when a frown quickly replaced See-More's face as he lay there.

"I see…" He said it very slowly and quietly, but just as Jinx was about to try and find some way to comfort him another big smile suddenly replaced the look. "Guess I get to teach him how to be human again. Man, that guy can really be a pain sometimes!"

He said this with a pained chuckle and after he had settled down again:

"What about Red-X and Kyd?"

"Red-X." She said the name with a scoff, "That ass dropped us off at this mansion summer home thing about a week ago and I haven't seen him since."

She decided to keep the little detail of him dropping off a large cart box of Zinothium vials and empty needles a secret for now.

"Whoa! He's letting us stay in a mansion!" See-More asked this as he looked around the room, despite the fact that he couldn't see anything. "That's cool! I didn't know a guy like him would have a mansion!"

"I'm sure this place isn't even his. I bet he broke in and is leaving us here to take the blame."

"Nah Red-X wouldn't do that." See-More said seriously, his pointless looking around ceasing as his head then turned towards Jinx, smile still on his face, "He might act kinda like a jerk sometimes, but he's actually pretty cool, ya know?"

"No, I don't know." Jinx returned, trying to fold her arms and look unmoved by his words, before quickly realizing how pointless it was. Instead she let out a sigh as she smiled as well. "But I guess I can take your word for it."

"I hope I get to see that dude again." See-More commented before his smile suddenly disappeared for a second. "What about Kyd?"

"Kyd."

Jinx said the name aloud, her own smile vanishing as she thought about how best to answer See-More's question. How long had these two been together since she betrayed them? What had they seen together? What had they been through together? After everything that might have happened would See-More still be satisfied with the answer she gave him?

"He's…" Jinx said softly, and before she knew it a small smile returned to her face as she placed a gentle hand on See-More's chest. The teen flinched at the contact as his mouth opened slightly in confusion.

"He's gone to right a few wrongs."

**XXXXXX**

"Crud!" A small and whiny voice cried out in shock as he was suddenly falling to the floor.

He tried to use his little arms and legs to stand but they were numb for whatever reason and wouldn't obey him. With a little curse of irritation he pressed a button on the strap on the backpack he wore, but only electricity sparked in response. Somehow his equipment managed to get wet.

"How the crud did that happen?" He asked out loud as his hands finally allowed him to slightly push himself off the floor.

They were still shaking terribly and only allowed him to look around in front of him. Unfortunately he could only make out that he was in some very big and very dark room; he could only make out the metallic walls that stretched further into the darkness than he could see.

"And where the crud am I!" He spat out loud.

"You're at where we at, I reckon!" A country tinged voice sang out, instantly sending a moan out of the little one on the floor.

"Oh don't tell me…" He mumbled as a rather strong hand gripped his back and pulled him to the air, "Hey, hey! Put me down you big stinkin' oaf!"

Mammoth glared at his friend as he held him in the air before him. Gizmo was prepared to shout at him some more but at his new vantage point he could now see behind his partner in crime. This at first, was a small gathering of Billy's as they joked and messed around with one another, but quickly looking past them Gizmo could see what could only be described as giant shelves of people frozen in personal chambers. Though it wasn't just any people, they were villains, villains of all kinds.

"What the…"

As Gizmo looked on he could see that some of the villains were getting freed from their frozen cells from small, floating objects that were shooting some kind of ray that melted the ice without harming the person inside. Gizmo glanced beside them to see that he, Mammoth, and Billy Numerous were all standing outside a recently unfrozen cell of their own.

"We…we got captured?" The little teen asked out loud, "How the crud did that happen!"

"Dunno…we weren't the only ones though." Mammoth mused as he set Gizmo back down on still shaky feet as he looked around them. "Looks like they got everybody."

"Whose they?"

Mammoth only shrugged. Of course Gizmo wouldn't get a straight answer from him, but strange thing was…the more he tried to think about what led to them all getting frozen the more his own memory drew up a blank.

"Stupid cruddy brain!" Gizmo hissed, slamming small fists against his bald head, "I can't remember anything about this!"

"Awe shucks, who cares about how we done ended up here little trigger!" One of the Billy's spoke up as he walked over to stand beside them, arms crossed with a rather triumphant smile on his face, "We're free as a bird now! And this little birdie's feathers are itching to do some pluckin' if ya know what I mean!"

"No I don't know what you mean." Gizmo grumbled rubbing a hand across his face in irritation. He turned his attention back to his large companion, "Mammoth, don't you wanna find out what skuzzbrain was dumb enough to try and capture us?"

"I just want to find some food…" Mammoth grumbled as he rubbed his stomach, "Feels like I haven't eaten in weeks…"

"I could go for a hickory smoked sausage meself!" The Billy near them piped up.

"Or a chicken pot pie!" Another Billy spoke.

"Or a piece of Mama's sweeeeeet apple pie!"

"Stop! I think I'm going to pass out if I think about food any longer…" Mammoth moaned.

"Well let's see if we can rustle us up some grub!" The Billy nearest to them spoke up already going off in what Gizmo could only guess where Billy believed the exit was. An eager Mammoth quickly following.

"And by rustle you mean steal, right Billy?" Another Billy asked.

"Of course Billy!" The original Billy retorted.

"You comin' Gizmo?" Mammoth asked, hesitating momentarily to look back at the small boy who still stood still in thought.

"Yeah, sure, whatever." Gizmo gave in with a huff.

But just as he moved to head off after them something caught his eyes. It was a movement in the darkness near him. Something with red eyes and white hair. Gizmo knew it. But when he looked nothing was there.

Cursing silently to himself Gizmo shook his head before running after the quickly departing Mammoth and Billy's. Kyd Wykkyd watched his old comrades depart for another moment or two before silently pulling the cape around him, vanishing into the cold, black darkness.

**XXXXX**

The throne room was quiet now. Not a soul could be found inside the room as large as a house. Not one soul besides the young Tameranian princess that sat on her knees before two gleaming black coffins. She looked upon them with eyes half open.

She had cried her limit during the ceremony for her sister and guardian. She honestly believed that there were no tears left inside her any longer. She sat in clothes still tattered and beaten from the fighting, the dirty cloth still wrapped around her damaged eye. Her people had tried to get her bathed and dressed but she refused them. She refused to look any different on the outside than she looked on the inside.

Soft footsteps soon broke the silence of the room. Starfire did not turn her head or even tried to acknowledge that she heard them. She wasn't ready for what was to come. She would never be ready.

"Princess Starfire." The figure behind her spoke in Tameranian. Starfire didn't speak back to him, only waited for him to continue. "It was Queen Blackfire's final wish that war would be declared on Earth and her allies. As the final remaining heir to the throne will you agree with your Queen's desire…or shall you try and fight against it?"

The threat was not masked at all in those words. How had her sister managed to sink her claws so deep? And how far did her influence spread amongst her people? The answers to those questions, and many others that raged in the young girl's head, were far from clear. There was one thing that was clear to her though.

"My only desire is that justice be brought to those who deserve it." Starfire spoke, small hands clenching into fists at her knees, her gaze still on the tombs before her. "I only ask that my friends won't suffer under Tameran rule."

There was no response at that. Starfire almost turned to see if he had simply left. But that was when two hands found their way onto her shoulders. Starfire flinched, but before she could move she felt someone breathing against her ear.

"Your _friends_ the Titans shall rue the day they ever even existed." A sinister voice whispered coldly in her ear, "When Tamaran crushes Earth they will have nowhere to run or hide. They will know pains beyond imagining, they will wish for death for every second they are kept alive, and they will personally witness every moment of horror and fear they have brought upon themselves. Suffering."

The figure scoffed the word as he released Starfire's now shaking shoulders.

"Suffering doesn't even begin to describe what they will be put through."

Starfire listened as the footsteps slowly faded away. She supposed she was wrong as a silent tear fell from her eye. She could still cry.

**XXXXXX**

**End.**

**XXXXXX**

**Now that we have reached the end of this particular story allow me to take the time to say a final BIG thank you to every single person who has read and reviewed this story. It is the first one that I have finished and have been proud of to have finished and I am very glad you all have been around to take part in it. With that said I have unfairly left you with a very big cliffhanger, something I surely wasn't planning on doing when I started this fanfic, but I guess that's the fun of writing things you aren't sure how will end, they tend to evolve on their own. But I digress.**

**I am thinking of writing a sequel to this. Though it all really depends on if anyone would be interested in such a sequel. So if you are don't be afraid to let me know, I will mainly base my decision on how interested people would be in reading more about this story.**

**But whether or not I do write such a thing I very much enjoyed writing this story and hearing about how much many of you enjoyed reading it. Truly you guys are the best inspirations I could ask for when it comes to writing, so, one last time, from the bottom of my heart…THANK YOU! :D**


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